Anthem - Film

New Deerhoof Video, "Chandelier Searchlight"

nik.mercer — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:37:46 -0700

Deerhoof, a band that this band has pledged its complete allegiance to, just keeps on impressing us. First it was sheet music, then a pile of awesome fan-made covers, then a selection of killer promotional tour-only stickers, and now, a new music video for "Chandelier Searchlight." The thing totally reminds us of Tomi Ungerer's classic children's book, The Three Robbers―but in glorious animated motion!

"Chandelier Searchlight" is one of the best songs on the record (they're all spectacular, though), and possibly Deerhoof's most beautiful tune. The soft-spoken, fluid quality of Satomi's voice paired with the delicate guitar noodlings and shuffling drum patterns makes for a quality jam that calms us down and lets our imagination run wild.

A fun sidenote: You can now personally ask Deerhoof questions at their homepage.

Buy Offend Maggie

"Short Cuts": The Criterion Collection

nik.mercer — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 06:46:44 -0700

In Short Cuts, Robert Altman explores the stark, melancholic beauty of life―some days our howl is that life is wretched, some days that life is wonderful. The stories of twenty-two characters and their disconcerting relationships crisscross in a tangled web of irony to examine the psycho-sexual side of human nature. Adapted from Raymond Carver's collection of short stories, the film showcases the raw talents of an all-star ensemble cast, including: Tim Robbins, Lili Taylor, Tom Waits, Julianne More, Chris Penn, Frances McDormand, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Robert Downey, Jr.

For Altman aficionados and those simply lucky enough to have indulged in his iconic masterpiece, consider Criterion's latest release compulsory viewing. The unsurpassed originality of the late maverick director is guaranteed to reverberate into the future with this exclusive double-disc set, which contains deleted scenes, documentaries, interviews, and a collectible booklet. The DVD will hit stores on October 14, 2008.

The Criterion Collection

Ray Harryhausen Collection Gift Set

nik.mercer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:32:33 -0700

While CGI animation may be the standard form of artificial film-making today, such was not always the case for many decades of the still relatively nascent medium. Since the 1990s film fanatics have lamented the passing of the organic, handmade qualities of D.I.Y. and stop-motion techniques heavily utilized for years and years in the past. When debating which is "better"―man-made, sometimes janky animations or seamless computer-generated ones―the stop-motion innovator Ray Harryhausen inevitably comes us.

Starting in the 1950s and continuing through the 1980s, Harryhausen brought stop-motion to a totally new (hyper-creative) level with classics such as It Came from Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. The Flying Saucers, 20 Million Miles to Earth, and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad... and finally, his works are being reverentially reissued on Blu-ray as single discs and a gorgeous box set on October 7 through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Each movie is available in both black and white and, for the first time, color (Harryhausen often was unable to work in color). Thanks to the wonderful technology that the Blu-ray format has to offer, viewers can actually flip between the two color schemes as they wish and enjoy loads of extras, too. "I am thrilled these filmes are finally being seen in color," said Harryhausen. "I had wanted to do them in color in the 1950s, but the budgets were not large enough to accommodate that luxury." But there's something to be said about working with what you've got, and Harryhausen's boundless talent has always shown through in his films, whether or not they were created in color.

So: if you've got a Harryhausen fan, film freak, or curious viewer for a friend, be sure to pick up either the box set or a couple single-disc releases for one of the handful of holidays we've got quickly approaching. Each video comes with in-depth audio commentary from Harryhausen himself and others involved with the projects, select feaurettes, original ad artworks, sneak peeks of what's to come from the Harryhausen archives, and much, much more. Check it out!

Buy the Ray Harryhausen Collection

Film Series at SFMOMA, November/December

nik.mercer — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:40:28 -0700