‘It’s perhaps comical to describe a filmmaker revered in some circles as underrated when they’ve been nominated for some of the biggest prizes in cinema — the Palme d’Or, Venice’s Golden Lion, the Academy Awards, Berlin’s Golden Bear. But perhaps because Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski never really took many of these major prizes home, and never gained global status until later in his career, we find that the filmmaker is not as revered as we’d like (though he tied for a Golden Lion in 1993). Perhaps this observation is very relative. Perhaps it’s because he didn’t enter the Criterion canon until 2006, perhaps because his career ended too abruptly just as it was truly ascending, or perhaps simply because he’s one of our most adored filmmakers: we routinely never give up an opportunity to celebrate Kieslowski’s work when we can.

‘A Polish director who spent much of his life behind the country’s postwar communist regime (and felt the pains of its control and censorship), Kieslowski started out as a documentarian and then made his first feature-length drama in 1975. While the early narrative films contained many elements of social realism and political dimension within the intangible and mystical conceits Kieslowski is known for, the filmmaker’s work soon discarded many of his overly political ideas and shifted into his unwavering purpose: exploring the metaphysical, random mysteries and paradoxes of the universe via themes of chance, interconnectivity, identity, destiny and more. The films had some high-concepts on paper — movies about doppelgangers, rewriting one’s time and history, second chances, reaching beyond parallel alternative universes and even death — but each one had a spiritual resonance, an emotional weight, a soulful humanism, and a dramatic texture that made them beautifully profound and enigmatically enrapturing.

‘Stanley Kubrick himself once said of Kieslowski and his constant screenwriting companion Krzysztof Piesiewicz — a lawyer and now a prominent politician — “I am always reluctant to single out some particular feature of the work of a major filmmaker because it tends inevitably to simplify and reduce the work… They [dramatize life] with such dazzling skill, you never see the ideas coming and don’t realize until much later how profoundly they have reached your heart.”

‘There’s arguably a before and after period in Kieslowski’s work that is divided by 1985’s “No End.” That film marked the first collaboration with screenwriter Piesiewicz and composer Zbigniew Preisner and both men would work on every subsequent Kieslowski picture. Arguably, Kieslowski’s metaphysical sonnets of intuitive nature from that period forward became masterful symphonies of sound, color, and rich emotional transcendence. Interestingly enough, this new period would center almost exclusively on ravishing female protagonists (though “The Dekalog” was mixed).

‘Frustrated by the medium of cinema and/or his own limitations — a terminally cynical Kieslowski didn’t believe the interior mysteriousness of the human condition could be aptly captured on film, though that hardly ever stopped him — and exhausted by the speed in which he made his final masterwork and triptych Three Colors trilogy (he directed all three in under ten months and at one point he was editing, shooting and writing all three films simultaneously), Kieslowski announced his retirement at the age of 52 during the premiere of “Red” at the Cannes Film Festival. Just under two years later, as word came out that he was considering leaving retirement to form a new trilogy loosely based on the concepts of heaven, hell and purgatory (one of which was later directed by Tom Tykwer), the filmmaker died during open-heart surgery at the all-too early age of 54. Krzysztof Kieslowski passed away 17 years ago today, and so simply we use this opportunity to celebrate the filmmaker who believed that strangers were perhaps not so estranged; who sometimes believed the our existence was a cruel trick with deeper meaning we couldn’t fully comprehend; who believed in contemplating the mysterious elements of the universe that unified us as people beyond nationalities, race religions, political and personal philosophies.’ — Rodrigo Perez

 

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Stills

 

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Further

Krzysztof Kieslowski @ IMDb
Book: ‘Krzysztof Kieslowski: Interviews’
KK @ letterboxd
The Essentials: Krzysztof Kieslowski
KK @ The Criterion Collection
KK Fan Page @ Facebook
Political movies are hard to pull off. The films of Krzysztof Kieslowski hold the key.
Memory and Survival the French Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski and Ingmar Bergman – Once again about a certain artistic relationship
KK @ Senses of Cinema
No Holes In The Carpet: An Interview with Krzysztof Kieślowski

 

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Extras

30-Minute Interview w/ Krzysztof Kieślowski on Filmmaking

Krzysztof Kieślowski: A Prison Made of Light

1-Hour Masterclass / Workshop with Krzysztof Kieślowski from 1994

Slavoj Zizek on Krzysztof Kieslowski

 

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Interview

 

Q: Why were you interested in the French motto: Liberty, equality, fraternity?
Krzysztof Kieślowski: Precisely for the same reason that I was interested in “Decalogue.” In ten phrases,the ten commandments express the essential of life. And these three words — liberty,equality, and fraternity — do just as much. Millions of people have died for those ideals. We decided to see how these ideals are realized practically and what they mean today.

Q: How did you conceive the films in relation to each other?
KK: We looked very closely at the three ideas, how they functioned in everyday life, but from an individual’s point of view. These ideas are contradictory with human nature. When you deal with them practically, you do not know how to live with them. Do people really want liberty, equality, fraternity? Is it not some manner of speaking? We always take the individual, personal point of view.

Q: So you turned to fiction — yet you stick very close to real life.
KK: I think life is more intelligent than literature. And working so long in documentaries became both a blessing and an obstacle in my work. In a documentary, the script is just to point you in a certain direction. One never knows how a story is going to unfold. And during the shoot, the point is to get as much material as possible. It’s in the editing that a documentary takes place. Today, I think I still work in the same way. What I shoot isn’t really the story — the footage just contains the elements that will make up the story. While shooting, details which weren’t in the script are often thrown in. And during the editing process a lot is cut out.

Q: If you took this way of thinking far enough, don’t you think you might end up using scripts merely as pretexts?
KK: No, not at all. Absolutely not. For me the script is key because it’s the means to communicating with the people I work with. It may be the skeleton, but it is the indispensable foundation. Later, many things can be changed: Certain ideas may be eliminated, the end may become the beginning, but what’s between the lines, all the ideas — that stays the same.

Q: You call yourself an artisan, as opposed to an artist. Why?
KK: Real artists find answers. The knowledge of the artisan is within the confines of his skills. For example, I know a lot about lenses, about the editing room. I know what the different buttons on the camera are for. I know more or less how to use a microphone. I know all that, but that’s not real knowledge. Real knowledge is knowing how to live, why we live… things like that.

Q: Did you shoot the films separately, with an interval between them?
KK: We started with “Blue” and shot from September to November 1992. On the last day, we started “White” because in the courtroom scene, you see the characters from both films together. As it is very difficult to shoot in a courtroom in Paris, since we had the permit, we took advantage of it; we immediately shot about 30% of “White” because the first part takes place in Paris. Then we left for Poland to finish it. After ten days of rest, we went to Geneva to start “Red” which was shot in Switzerland from March to May 1993.

Q: Do the names of the characters have a particular meaning?
KK: I tried to think of names which would be both easy for the audience to remember and reflective of the characters’ personalities. In real life, there are names that surprise us because they don’t seem to suit the person at all.

Q: For “The Double Life Of Veronique” — did you have Veronique from the Gospel in mind?
KK: Later on I did, but not when I chose the name, and although it had been unconscious, it seemed like a good association to have made. For “Red,” I asked Irene Jacob what her favorite name was as a little girl. At the time, it was “Valentine.” So, I named her character Valentine. For “White,” I named the hero Karol (Charlie in Polish) as a tribute to Chaplin. This little man, who is both naive and shrewd, has a “chaplinesque” side to him.

Q: “The Decalogue” was full of chance meetings — some of them failures and some successful. And in “Three Colors”, from one film to another, people seem to run into each other.
KK: I like chance meetings – life is full of them. Everyday, without realizing it, I pass people whom I should know. At this moment, in this cafe, we’re sitting next to strangers. Everyone will get up, leave, and go on their own way. And they’ll never meet again. And if they do, they won’t realize that it’s not for the first time. In the trilogy, these encounters have less importance than in “A Short Film About Killing” in which the fact that the future killer and the lawyer fail to meet each other is key. In the trilogy, they’re included mainly for the pleasure of some cinephiles who like to find points of reference from one film to another. It’s like a game for them.

Q: Each film has a scene with an elderly person trying to put the bottle in the trash can. What does this mean?
KK: I merely thought that old age awaits all of us and that one day we won’t have enough strength left to put a bottle in a container. In “Blue,” to avoid having this scene seem moralistic, I over-exposed the image. I figured that this way Julie doesn’t see the woman, and doesn’t realize what lies ahead for herself. She’s too young. She doesn’t know that one day she’s going to need someone’s help. In “White” Karol smiles because he realizes this is the one person worse off than he is. In “Red” we see something about Valentine’s compassion.

Q: Valentine knows the price of fraternity and Julie will learn to love again. The same can be said for Karol and Dominique. Even when you’re talking about liberty and fraternity, love is the final word.
KK: To tell you the truth, in my work, love is always in opposition to the elements. It creates dilemmas. It brings in suffering. We can’t live with it, and we can’t live without it. You’ll rarely find a happy ending in my work.

Q: Yet the screenplay for “Red” seems to say that you believe in fraternity. And the end of “Blue” is optimistic since Julie is able to cry.
KK: You think so? For me optimism is two lovers walking into the sunset arm in arm. Or maybe into the sunrise — whatever appeals to you. But if you find “Blue” optimistic then why not? Paradoxically, I think the real happy ending is in “White” which is, nevertheless, a black comedy.

Q: A man who goes to visit his wife in prison. You call that a happy ending?
KK: But they love each other! Would you rather have the story finish with him in Warsaw and her in Paris – with both of them free but not in love?

Q: The theme of equality is not, at first glance, very obvious in “White.”
KK: It can be found in different areas: between husband and wife, at the level of ambitions and in the realm of finance. “White” is more about inequality than equality. In Poland we say “Everyone wants to be more equal than everyone else.” It’s practically a proverb. And it shows that equality is impossible: it’s contradictory to human nature. Hence, the failure of Communism. But it’s a pretty word and every effort must be made to help bring equality about… keeping in mind that we won’t achieve it — fortunately. Because genuine equality leads to set-ups like concentration camps.

Q: You’ve lived in France for a year now. Has the experience modified your notion of liberty — hence the tenor of “Blue?”
KK: No, because this film, like the other two, has nothing to do with politics. I’m talking about interior liberty. If I had wanted to talk about exterior liberty — liberty of movement — I would have chosen Poland. Since things obviously haven’t changed there. Let’s take some stupid examples. With your passport, you can go to America. I can’t. With a French salary you can buy a plane ticket to Poland, but this would be impossible vice-versa. But interior liberty is universal.

Q: “Blue” seems like a continuation of “The Double Life of Veronique,” which itself picks up on an element from “Decalogue 9” (the cardiac singer). We could go on and on… Each film seems to give you a rough outline for another film.
KK: Of course, because I’m always shooting the same film! There’s nothing original in that though. All filmmakers do the same, and authors are always writing the same book. I’m not talking about “professionals,” I mean authors. Careful, I said authors, not artists.

Q: Each color is shot in a different country. Was this out of duty to the European film industry?
KK: The idea of a European film industry is completely artificial. There are good and bad films: that’s it. Take “Red” — we filmed in Switzerland for economic reasons — Switzerland is co-producing. But it’s not only that. We started thinking… Where would a story like “Red” take place? We thought of England, then Italy. Then we decided that Switzerland was perfect, mainly because it’s a country that wants to stay a bit off-center. The proof is the referendum concerning its connection to Europe. Switzerland leans towards isolation. It’s an island in the middle of Europe. And “Red” is a story of isolation.

Q: Is it difficult to shoot in France without speaking the language?
KK: Of course, but I have no choice. Here I get financing. In other places, I don’t. At the same time, it’s more interesting than working somewhere I know too well. It enriches my perspective. I’m discovering a world that’s so different, a language that’s so complicated and rich! This is shown when I suggest — in Polish of course — a slight change in the dialogue. Everyone comes back at me, in France, with suggestions for twenty ways to change it.

Q: You’ve created a European symphony during your three shoots…
KK: As you may have gathered, we speak French, English, Polish, and German. We’ve created an atmosphere in which everyone is comfortable. I have no problem being with people of different nationalities.

Q: Do you feel European?
KK: No. I feel Polish. More specifically, I feel like I’m from the tiny village in the Northeast of Poland where I have a house and where I love to spend time. But I don’t work there. I cut wood.

 

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15 of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s 41 films

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Tramway (1966)
‘While a film student in Łódź, Krzysztof Kieślowski made the 1966 silent short THE TRAM, about a flirtatious boy and a pretty girl. The film is presented here courtesy of the Polish National Film, Television, and Theatre School in Łódź.’ — The Criterion Channel

the entirety

 

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Before the Rally (1971)
Documentary about international auto rallying.

the entirety

 

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Refrain (1972)
‘Bureaucracy of death. Only shows the clerks coldly responding to people’s inquiries on what to do with their dead loved ones. Interspersed are shots of people on the street and ends with babies being born. People are born and then they die and it simply boils down to certificates and numbers to these people and the government.’ — _kubrick

the entirety

 

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Murarz (1973)
‘A bricklayer and former communist party official looks back at his life, while taking part in a parade of May 1st.’ — IMDb

the entirety

 

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The Scar (1976)
‘Kieslowski’s first theatrical feature is a rather dour slice of social realism. Adapted from a journalist’s report, it’s set in 1970 and examines the ramifications surrounding the construction of a huge chemical plant near a relatively backward rural community. Pieczka’s project director suffers an ongoing crisis of conscience when the locals complain about the disruption. Meanwhile Stuhr’s sinister Party manager tries to keep the lid on negative reporting by a roving film crew. There’s understanding for points of view on all sides, but the absence of dramatic impetus reveals the film-maker’s difficulty in adapting from the documentary work which had comprised the bulk of his previous output. That’s bespectacled Agnieszka Holland as the factory secretary.’ — Time Out (London)

the entirety

 

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Camera Buff (1979)
‘A reflexive meditation on art and documentary and a key film in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s career, CAMERA BUFF follows a factory worker’s growing obsession with filmmaking after he captures the birth of his daughter on his new 8 mm camera.’ — The Criterion Channel

Trailer

 

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No End (1984)
‘The first film that Kieślowski made after the implementation of martial law in December 1981, Bez końca (No End), avoids easy, generic classification. It contains elements of psychological drama, ghost story, romance, courtroom drama, as well as political and metaphysical film. With Agnieszka Holland’s Kobieta samotna (A Woman Alone, 1981, released in 1988), No End is also among the bleakest films ever made in Poland.’ — Marek Haltof

Trailer

 

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Blind Chance (1981)
‘Before he stunned the cinematic world with the epic series The Decalogue and the Three Colors trilogy, the great Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski made his first work of metaphysical genius, Blind Chance, a compelling drama about the difficulty of reconciling political ideals with personal happiness. This unforgettable film follows Witek (the magnetic Bogusław Linda), a medical student with an uncertain future in Communist Poland; Kieślowski dramatizes Witek’s journey as a series of different possibilities, suggesting that chance rules our lives as much as choice does.’ — The Criterion Channel

the entirety

 

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A Short Film About Killing (1988)
‘The film is not easy to watch, being the story of a lumpen young man who kills a taxi driver and is caught, brought to trial, condemned to death and executed. Both deaths are dreadful; Kieslowski is clearly trying to tell us that both are morally repugnant. The taxi driver is battered with a stone and dies slowly, while the long-winded bureaucratic precision of the hanging was apparently so horrendous to film that Kieslowski’s team had to break off in the middle.

‘It should be emphasised, though, that the two most violent scenes are not lingered over. We see neither too little nor too much. They are there to shock us, but for a good reason. What makes them powerful is the rest of the film. It is shot by Slavomir Idziak with the aid of lowering, ochre-coloured filters that render the young man’s world like a purgatorial nightmare. Never has Warsaw and its environs looked so depressing.’ — Derek Malcolm

the entirety

 

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A Short Film About Love (1988)
‘Short Film About Love is a feature version of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Decalogue – VI from 1988. The film talks about an innocent boy who falls in love with an older, experienced woman who treats love as a noncommittal game.

‘The starting point of the plot is the Seventh Commandment (the Third Commandment is omitted in the series, whereas the Tenth is split into two films): ‘Thou shall not commit adultery’. The famous television cycle was meant by its creators to explore the functioning of Old Testament’s ethical and existential impact in the contemporary world. In terms of film’s structure the co-writer of the script Krzysztof Piesiewicz emphasizes the influence of Hitchock and Bergman. A Short Film About Love is a combination of Rear Window and a subtle psychological drama.’ — Robert Birkholc

the entirety

 

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The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
‘Krzysztof Kieślowski’s international breakthrough remains one of his most beloved films, a ravishing, mysterious rumination on identity, love, and human intuition. Irène Jacob is incandescent as both Weronika, a Polish choir soprano, and her double, Véronique, a French music teacher. Though unknown to each other, the two women share an enigmatic, emotional bond, which Kieślowski details in gorgeous reflections, colors, and movements. Aided by Slawomir Idziak’s shimmering cinematography and Zbigniew Preisner’s haunting, operatic score, Kieślowski creates one of cinema’s most purely metaphysical works. The Double Life of Véronique is an unforgettable symphony of feeling.’ — The Criterion Collection

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Three Colours: Blue (1993)
‘Three Colors: Blue is the first part of the Three Colors triptych, followed by White and Red. The whole cycle – like The Decalogue – was created in opposition to Kieślowski’s previous films, which dealt with the characters’ problems from a political and social angle and contained many realistic background details. In the half of the 1980s, Kieślowski decided to slightly change his tactics and present characters facing existential dilemmas, understood more universally than in his previous, more realist films.

‘All films in the cycle allude to the French Revolution. Their plots loosely refer to the mottos of the revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, whereas formally, by symbolic use of hues, they hint at the colours of the French flag. In accordance with this assumption, while trying to interpret Three Colors: Blue, one should treat the ideal of liberty as the starting point.’ — culture.pl

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Three Colors: White (1994)
‘The most playful and also the grittiest of Kieślowski’s Three Colors films follows the adventures of Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a Polish immigrant living in France. The hapless hairdresser opts to leave Paris for his native Warsaw when his wife (Julie Delpy) sues him for divorce (her reason: their marriage was never consummated) and then frames him for arson after setting her own salon ablaze. White, which goes on to chronicle Karol Karol’s elaborate revenge plot, manages to be both a ticklish dark comedy about the economic inequalities of Eastern and Western Europe and a sublime reverie about twisted love.’ — The Criterion Collection

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Three Colors: Red (1994)
‘Krzysztof Kieślowski closes his Three Colors trilogy in grand fashion, with an incandescent meditation on fate and chance, starring Irène Jacob as a sweet-souled yet somber runway model in Geneva whose life dramatically intersects with that of a bitter retired judge, played by Jean‑Louis Trintignant. Meanwhile, just down the street, a seemingly unrelated story of jealousy and betrayal unfolds. Red is an intimate look at forged connections and a splendid final statement from a remarkable filmmaker at the height of his powers.’ — The Criterion Collection

Trailer

Excerpt

Camera Movement in THREE COLORS: RED

 

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The Photograph (1995)
‘After looking at photo taken on celebration day when Warsaw has been freed by Polish and Russian soldiers, showing 2 young boys holding guns, Kieslowski tries to find them to discover how their lives went.’ — IMDb

the entirety

 

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Misanthrope, Hey, G. Sure, gotcha, totally. Yow, about your ear. Your body is such a prankster. Mixed with a brat. Well, high hopes that the antibiotics do what scientists thought they could do when they were considered newfound miracle workers. Huh, maybe all it took to mature David was a car? Hey, why not? I’m still awaiting Derek’s new one in the post. I didn’t see that Woody Allen, but it was a big hit and critical fave over here where he’s not persona non grata. Didn’t Timothee Chalamet disown it or something? Not his finest moment, if so. Right, it’s Thanksgiving. I almost forgot. There’s this American store here in Paris where you can order/buy a whole Thanksgiving classic dinner, the whole shebang, but the people who run it are far right QAnon weirdos, so I avoid the place even though they sell Kraft’s Macaroni and Cheese, which I often crave. ** David Ehrenstein, Thanks for thanking Carlos. He popped me a note and seemed happy with how y’all took it. Yep, watching pretty much all of those movies on late night TV when I was a wee little thing was a big part of my having grown up dark and ironic. I’ll look for that COVID doc, thanks. ** _Black_Acrylic, Yes, RIP the great Maradonna! ** wolf, Wolf, meshuggah! Guest-host Carlos seems to be a pretty thorough follower of the blog because when he sent the post to me, he said — and this is the god’s honest truth — ‘I hope wolf likes it.’ So he’s a fan of your commenting manifestation. Or maybe he actually knows you? Hm. Maybe he’s Esther or Chris Goode or someone in disguise. Honestly, I only really don’t like the Hayward’s insides. But I’ve never seen a show there that I didn’t think was fucked by the architecture. Oh, maybe the Carsten Holler show worked okay there. But the Brigit Riley show was an unmitigated disaster, I thought. Like the Deftones! Ha ha, okay, that’s pretty convincing. Well, okay too, yeah, I wouldn’t say no to that gif show thing. That’s true. And the head curator of the Hayward, Ralph Rugoff, is an old pal of mine, so … who knows? Good, ping me, I’m free as a bird. Would love too. ** Sypha, I was in Providence once as an adolescent on a family vacation, and I do remember it being very nice in this kind of Stephen King setting kind of way. ‘The Crawling Eye’ was the first horror movie I ever saw when I was knee-high to a grasshopper. It’s … terrible. And incredible! ** Steve Erickson, And I’ll look for ’76 Days’. Seems like that would play here once the movie theatres get reopened yet again. Wow, that 80s synth pop duo redo project by your friends sounds really fun. Alert me when their EP hits bandcamp, if you remember. I do know Volur, but I haven’t heard the new one. Cool, I’m on it, thanks! ** Bill, ‘The Crawling Eye’ will turn you into a wide eyed pre-teen giggling stoner, if I’m any indication. I hope the holiday Zoom does what it intends. ** Brian O’Connell, Hi, Brian. Oh, thanks a lot, man. Very happy that you liked the Ozu so much. Yeah, he’s a singular and great artist. For all the reasons you point out. My very favorite of his is ‘Late Spring’, but he’s kind of always wonderful for pretty much always the same reasons, so you can’t really go wrong. Ah, so that’s why there were a strangely large number of pix of Mishima in my Facebook feed yesterday. I like Mishima a lot. I haven’t read him in a long time for no good reason. And I have never seen the Schrader film even though I’ve always wanted to. I think my favorite Mishimas when I was particularly into him were ‘Confessions of a Mask’ and the ‘Sea of Fertility’ trilogy. Oh, and ‘The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.’ What are you favorites? I hope whatever your Thanksgiving consists of is a total treat. We start reopening here on Saturday. Shops and galleries and stuff will reopen then. And, if things don’t nosedive, museums and theatres and stuff on the 15th. And, if things still don’t nosedive, restaurants and cafes and bars on January 20th. Or so they semi-predict. ** Okay. A short time back I was hanging out with someone who said, ‘Have you done a Krzysztof Kieslowski post on your blog?’ ‘No, I haven’t,’ I said, ‘Do you think I should’. He looked at me with horror, like I had just asked him the world’s stupidest question. And that was my cue to make a Krzysztof Kieslowski Day. And there it is right up north. I hope you enjoy it. I hope that if you’re doing Thanksgiving, it rocks. And I will see you tomorrow.

* (Halloween countback post #1)
—-

 

‘Monster movie (also can be referred to as a creature feature or giant monster film) is a name commonly given to movies that centre on the struggle between human beings and one or more monsters. While there is no specific academic genre classification of that name, the term is usually applied to films sometimes labelled as horror, fantasy or science fiction genre that involve fictional creatures, in most cases it is applied to films that feature more oversized monsters despite its history starting with adaptations of horror folklore and literature.

‘The most common aspect of a monster movie is the struggle between a human collective of protagonists against one or more monsters, who serve as the antagonistic force. The monster is created by a folly of mankind – an experiment gone wrong, the effects of radiation or the destruction of habitat. Or usually the monster is from outer space, has been on Earth for a long time with no one ever seeing it, or released (or awakened) from a prison of some sort where is was being held.

‘In the 1950s, there arose a wave of “creature features” and the concept of combining nuclear paranoia with the genre. A parallel development during this era was the rise of the Z movie, films made outside the organized motion picture industry with ultra-low budgets. Grade-Z monster movies such as Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and The Creeping Terror (1964) are often listed among the worst films ever made because of their inept acting and amateurish special effects. After 1960, monster movies were less popular yet were still produced.’ — collaged

 

______________________
The Astounding She Monster (1957)
‘The Astounding She-Monster is a movie for people with highly specialized tastes. It tells the story of a trio of kidnappers, their socialite victim, the geologist whose house they invade, AND a blond, radium-emitting alien in tight spandex who crash-lands her spacecraft near that same house. Potential viewers of this film must possess the following traits: They must love movies that are made on the supercheap, and that contain no outdoor synch dialogue; movies in which egregious day-for-night photography is used, worse than anything in “Plan 9,” and in which non sequitur music that bears little relation to the story is standard. These viewers should also be OK with inept direction; the insertion of long, meaningless shots; offscreen narration that sounds as if it’s being read by a hypnotized dodo; Grade Z acting by a six-person cast (well, maybe Robert Clarke gives a Grade D performance); and “special” effects that look as though they were filmed through a Vaseline-smeared camera lens. It also wouldn’t hurt if potential viewers didn’t mind scratchy-looking prints on their DVD, with abysmal sound that keeps dropping out, and with hardly an “extra” to be found. If the above seems to match your highly specialized tastes, then The Astounding She-Monster might be just the flick for you.’ — ferbs54, imdB

 

________________
The Cosmic Monsters (1958)
‘The Cosmic Monsters was the onscreen title given to the American release (by Distributors Corporation of America) of the British science fiction film The Strange World of Planet X; title confusion invariably comes into play because in all of the advertising for this film, DCA called it Cosmic Monster instead. One of three British 1950s science fiction films to star American actor Forrest Tucker, it is the least known of the batch and is seldom revived. Generally considered a minor effort in the genre, The Cosmic Monsters is notable for its interesting premise, for a few effective shock scenes, and for being an across-the-pond cousin to the American “Big Bug” subgenre of science fiction movies. The giant ants, spiders, worms, etc. are all too obviously stock micro-cinematographic material; and the spectacle of the cast running in terror from them is a trifle absurd. Only a most unpleasant shot of an ant feeding off a human face makes the film unsuitable for younger audiences.’ — TCM

 

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Beast from Haunted Cave (1959)
‘This is one of those crooks-on-the-lamb-who-don’t-count-on-the-monster-outside the-cabin movies but with a difference. While most of these cheapo quickies never had much to start with, this little oddity is fun because you’re diverted from the trivial plot by acting and directing that’s edgier than you’d expect. MONTE HELLMAN directed this, his first picture, as though it were Key Largo rather than an ephemeral ROGER CORMAN horror flick. So even if you’re disappointed by the cave monster – which I was not – you’re hooked by the interplay between the hard-bitten gang leader (FRANK WOLFF who also starred in Radley Metzger’s The Lickerish Quartet), his cynical, world-weary girlfriend (SHEILA CAROL), and their wholesome, outdoorsy, back-country guide played by MICHAEL FOREST (Atlas). The ads promised: “Screaming Young Girls Sucked into a Labyrinth of Horror by a Blood-Starved Ghoul from Hell!” Said Ghoul from Hell is actually a giant spider monster that’s really more like an octopus covered with cotton candy which turns up in the darndest places.’ — somethingweird.com

 

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The Giant Claw (1957)
‘In basic terms this film is your standard 50’s sci-fi/monster flick, but with one of the most asinine-looking monsters ever. It starts off quite promising but gradually begins to peter out until it finally reveals its terrible title creature. The performances by the actors may keep one interested, as they give it their all despite some truly off-putting dialog. Those looking for pure cinematic cheese will not be disappointed in this one, as both the monster and the miniature FX are truly a sight to behold in their godawfulness. Music is forgettable, but the endless cries of the big bird will haunt you long after this one is over. A beautiful mess. That is exactly what this film is. The producers try so hard to give us a frightfully good time, but the end result is just laughable. It’s so bad, that the years have garnered this movie a special reputation above and beyond other genre films from the same decade. Anyone calling themselves a fan of B-movies must see this film at least once, just to see how unintentionally comical it all is. The folks that don’t like older films or prefer a certain degree of realism in their films had better steer clear. This thing is about as far removed from reality as Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch. If you’re like me, you’ll love this film for it’s over the top cheeze factor.’ — bmoviegraveyard.com

 

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Teenagers Battle The Thing (1958)
‘A high school Biology class receives a visitor, who is a good friend of their teacher. He tells them of an encounter that he and their teacher had 15 years before while searching for Indian artifacts in the nearby mountains. They find a mummified corpse in a cave that resembles a rough-hewn statue. The mummy is brought back to their lodge and breaks out of its wrappings. It goes on a short rampage in what appears to be an orchard. The humans gather together to stop the creature before it can kill any one. The film was an expanded and colorized to become the 1972 film The Curse of the Bigfoot. The two stars from the original appear as adults in the opening scene of the 1972 film. The rest of Curse of Bigfoot consists of the entire 1958 film seen as a flashback.’ — Wiki

 

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Robot Monster (1953)
‘The monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter. Universally recognized by bad film connoisseurs, Robot Monster is one of the most poorly executed and hilariously awful films of all time, perhaps only second to Plan 9 From Outer Space in it’s infamy. You would think that Robot Monster would at least have some propensity for creating atmosphere. Considering that the plot, the acting and dialogue seem to be of little concern, it would only be reasonable that the focus of the film would be towards more of a feeling than a linear narrative. Yet atmosphere and scenery is arguably where Robot Monster fails most noticeably. Unless you have a penchant for piles of rocks and barren scrub-land brush, you could get better scenery by closing your eyes and putting up a camera at random. There are long moments of panoramic shots showing nothing more than our gorilla suited alien trudging up the scrubby mountain side to his cave, which only seems to emphasize that this is a portly fellow, bumbling along in a cumbersome costume for seemingly pointless footage.’ — ericjant, imdB

 

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The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
‘In The Giant Gila Monster, most of the plot is given over to a group of hot-rod enthusiasts, headed by nice-guy Chace Winstead (Don Sullivan), who sometimes breaks into song. Before long, the titular gila monster, which is just that — a real gila monster — is lumbering about on miniaturized sets terrorizing the community, killing at random, knocking over trains and barns, and in general making a nuisance of itself. When the monster threatens to devour Chace’s kid sister, he attempts to dispatch the beast with a hot rod full of nitroglycerin. Camp value is provided by a truckload of 1950s B-movie cliches and dreadful song breaks — “The Gila Monster Crawl” among other “rock & roll hits” — by its lead, Don Sullivan, who through this movie rose from nothing to complete obscurity.’ — collaged

 

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The Crawling Eye (1958)
‘Even before the success of Hammer films English moviemakers were trying to get a piece of the same boxoffice that Americans had tapped in fantastic science fiction stories. With a few exceptions, the attempts were pretty bleak. Another teleplay upgraded for the screen, as had been most of Hammer’s Sci-Fi features, this moody and ambitious chiller has one of those perfectly constructed stories. A chalet welcomes a host of shady scientists, psychics and a reporter who may be a spy. All are drawn for different reasons to a mountain where mountain climbers are disappearing, or getting their heads ripped off. The horror menace makes itself known through killings and also via the telepathic reception of a mind-reader. This puts the wonderfully expressive actress Janet Munro at the center of the drama, instead of making her a typical horror heroine who stands by to scream and be rescued. Her wide-eyed visions tell of unseen monsters, in nervous speeches that have the effect of a good ghost story.’ — dvdtalk.com

 

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Monster from Green Hell (1958)
‘They don’t really get much worse than Monster from Green Hell, a horrible, ludicrous “giant mutated insect” movie from 1958 that is strictly bottom of the barrel. Now, if you are in the right frame of mind, all this might mean that it’s just exactly what you’re looking for, because many people get a huge kick out of laughing at the absurdity of these low-budget monster flicks. Be advised, however, that while there is plenty to laugh at in Monster, there also is an incredible amount of dead space throughout the film. It seems that director Kenneth G. Crane had to pad the film out to meet a certain length requirement, and so there’s a lot of time when nothing really happens as our heroes journey through the jungle. Also, there’s a high percentage of stock footage, which doesn’t necessarily seamlessly match the actual “new” footage. And then there are the “special” effects. Aside from two — one in which a giant wasp is seen coming over a hill and another involving a wasp-python fight — the other effects are abysmal. (There’s where you get your yocks.) The cast is poor, with Jim Davis unbelievable as a scientist and Barbara Turner unappealing as the love interest. The script, by the way, is dreadful, in case you needed to be told.’ — rovi

 

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The Magnetic Monster (1953)
‘Working for O.S.I., the Office of Scientific Investigation, A-Man agent Jeffrey Stewart and his partner Dan Forbes are sent to a local hardware store where they find a strong magnetic field has magnetized every metal item in the store. Investigating further, they eventually trace the source of the magnetism to an airborn flight carrying scientist Howard Denker, now dying of radiation poisoning, who has carted on board with him a new radioactive element which he has bombarded with alpha particles for 200 hours. The element, dubbed ‘serranium’ grows geometrically by creating matter out of energy which it absorbs from metallic objects surrounding it. The Magnetic Monster has a delightful gaffe in every scene. When a dangerous isotope is said to be ‘on the loose’, the police radio order goes out to SHOOT TO KILL … Shoot what exactly, they don’t say. This line could very well have been invented at the film’s mix, if the producer thought the scene needed an extra jolt. But despite the fact that Curt Siodmak cooked up Donovan’s Brain and personally invented a bona fide classic monster mythology, his ’50s sci-fi efforts strain credibility in all directions.’ — classicmoviesez.com

 

 

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p.s. Hey. So, a few weeks back a kind reader of this blog, one Carlos Kilarney, asked if he could make a Halloween post to include in the countdown. I, of course, said, ‘Yes, please.’ One thing lead to another, and he was unable to finish the post until a few days ago. Missing Halloween, as I do, and realising that his wonderful post is a thing for all occasions, I am happy to run it now both to restore the Halloween vibe for a day and let it run unencumbered and wild. So, there you have it. Thank you so much, Carlos, and the rest of you have what would seem to be a guaranteed blast and please let your guest-host know you did, thanks. ** Ian, Hi, Ian. Concrete is so underrated. They should make everything out of it, except maybe food. And clothing. Oh, interesting, about the carpentry course. I hope it’s as interesting and even as exciting to do as it is to think about. So, then carpentry will be your profession? I don’t think I know any carpenters. I’m impressed. Cheers to you too! ** Milk, I have to say I think you’re totally right about that. Thanks. sir. ** David Ehrenstein, Tip of the hat! ** _Black_Acrylic, That Dundee building is a real beaut. Oh, dude, no, thank you! ** wolf, Yep. Dude, that’s a great post. It hits marks that weren’t pre-marked and that one wouldn’t have known existed. And it was very popular, with hits through the roof, so one of the marks it hit is the zeitgeist. I can tell you the film news privately. It’s not, like, giant if you’re not involved, but, yeah, it’s the seeming breakthrough we needed. I’ve had a few ultra-delicious vegan pastries here in the big P. Can’t remember where. Yes, let’s do a vegan pastry arrondissement exhausting treasure hunt the very moment that ‘plans’ become plans again. Our shops reopen on Saturday. So we’re maybe on our tentative way. Love, me. ** Sypha, Paris has some brutalist buildings, but not a ton because Paris is pretty into not tearing buildings down in order to eternally look like it did a century ago, which is nice of Paris actually. Right, I need to order that Finbow book. I’ve gotten behind. It’s good? ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff. The new JC is yet to be cracked. I think today. I was going to debut it yesterday, but I got pulled into a GbV/Pollard sound spiral, and those tend to last for hours upon hours. Excited to. The Walser play wasn’t quite there yet in my opinion when I saw it, but she has worked on it more afterwards, so I’m not sure. Best case scenario was it would premiere in Paris on December 4th, but the new opening/restriction measures introduced yesterday leave all theatres closed until further notice, so its birthdate is a question mark. Hugs, buddy. ** Brendan, Mine too, although I think my husk is still just a little juicy and pink? ** rigby, Hey, Rigby! Boost! I have to say if I were to pick one brutalist building that I think mostly sucks it would be Southbank Centre. Maybe not so much from the outside, but the inside is crap. Especially the art museum part. Worst space to show art in that I have ever known. I’m very happy to have helped give you wonderful days! What more could I or my contraption hope for? Zip. Apart from school kids and the occasional bunch of rapscallions, Parisians have been fairly good, I think. But then I’m never out later at night when I would imagine the prescribed politesses goes to hell. Oh, and your comment showed up just fine. One of this blog’s weird mysteries is that commenters often can’t see their comments, but I can. Been trying unsuccessfully to get a reason why for years now. So great to see you! Hang the hell out, man! ** Bill, Hi. I think the most exciting brutalist buildings I’ve seen were in Buenos Aires. They’ve got a wealth there for whatever reason. The odd thing about the Walser play is that he wrote it when he was 13 years old or something, so there’s almost nothing about it that seems Walserian. No news here either really, not even mediocre horror movies, but that’s my fault. ** Steve Erickson, Oops, well, gosh, hang in there for another month-plus then. Interesting reviews coupling there. I’m most curious to read them both for entirely different reasons in each case. Everyone, Mr. Erickson has a couple of timely and charismatic reviews for you. First he has reviewed the reissue of Coil’s MUSICK TO PLAY IN THE DARK here, and, second, he has reviewed the apparently unbelievably bad new Bowie bio pic STARDUST here. ** tender prey, Marc! Hey, man! You got lured inside! It was a real fucking beauty of a post, then and now and forever. I hope you’re doing good. Let’s Skype or Zoom or whatever soon. Love, me. ** Right. You already know what you have in store for you today, and please have at it. See you tomorrow.