two ladies

jean-lucien recently sent me some screen test shots from the film 'cabaret.' i really should dig around real quick and come up with the names of these two actresses who share the spotlight with joel grey in the 'two ladies' number. but hey, it's late. i love the colors jean-lucien was able to coax out of the film stock. and i dig the poses... it almost looks like they're posing for their mugshot after tangling with the law near the wild end of some glam oktoberfest. st. pauli girls' gone wild.

helicopter

i am a serious student of film. i have been so since i was about five years old. even at that age i was reading credits because i was curious to know who was responisble for freaking my little girl brain. my eyes have always been wide and thirstily focused on 'the screen.' that being said, my praise for filmmaker francis ford coppola has been historically selective. i've seen 'apocalypse now,' and i think the scene where the playboy girls are lowered under cover of darkness to entertain the wild troops is among the most eloquent scenes. it could conceiveably 'say it all.' i'm not sure who was responsible for costuming the girls in this scene, but what the girls are wearing really adds to the impact.

it's ann-margaret day...!

that quote was actually from 'mel,' who was looking for an excuse to close the diner. in any case, any day is groovy enough to celebrate miss ann-margret. check her out here, and please roll the video below. you won't regret it.

color slide

here is a very groovy-and-lightly-tricked still from nicholas roeg's suspenseful 1973 masterpiece 'don't look now,' based on a work of daphne de maurier; starring julie 'delicious' christie and donald sutherland. i'm a little too tired to weave any poetic words about it. but the image doesn't really need much more than a pair of human eyes to dig on it, you know?

paralax view - the american montage - video

this is the unforgettable slideshow from the film 'the paralax view' by alan j. pakula. i admit, i've never seen the whole thing, but i'd be really surprised if the rest of the movie gets any better or more touching than this. i'll most likely never know who composed the very effective piece of music, or who was responsible for the pacing and cutting of this compilation, but... the brilliance for pacing and timing and emotional impact is faultless. its like kissing america. so dig it.

do i dare?

...do i dare post a shot of karl malden as tonight's 'ugly is the new cute' candidate? i almost want to post him without that title. yes, i have to admit, i've never thought mr. malden was ugly. it's probably true that i first saw him in the american express commercials in the 1970's. but even then, i remember he made me feel safe. it was just an impression i felt, even as a very small girl, watching him... probably in bits of 'streets of san francisco,' too. come to think of it, i can't consciously remember a time when i didn't know his face and his voice. and yeah, i think he appealed to me, (most likely on a freudian level) because he seemed capable and smart and made me feel safe. i've actually read karl's autobiography. i couldn't put it down... then again, i had a full-blown crush on him at the time. and i guess i still do. but really, its a good read about how hollywood really worked and brando and carroll baker and all that stuff. he's the best, he really is. this frame is a screen capture from the sometimes-banned elia kazan film 'babydoll.' it IS require viewing.

sweetlife

here's a still my mate jean-lucien made and tinted a long time ago. its a frame from the movie

'babydoll.' the girl is carroll baker. if i start praising her, we'll be here all night long. the choice of the single word 'life' in the corner was added by jean-lucien, and i find it particularly positive. the choice to tint in such a queer shade of pink, and the angle of her smile... well, all in all, i think its a sound work of art in itself, on a very strong and legitimate Warhol level. i like it like a kid likes sugar.

starry sally as herself

i snagged this cool shot from ken russell's 'tommy' just to see if i could coax the tricky color out of it. i think it turned out well. this is the lovestruck sally simpson getting ready for the big concert. her vignette is a cool and crucial facet in pete townshend's well-paced and expertly crafted libretto. and hey, the song is great!! mmm, can you tell i'm tired tonight or what? sigh... so um, dig it.

the assistants

this is a still from ken russell's musical masterpiece, 'tommy.' the man is, of course, roger daltry, and man... i really should know the chick's names; seeing as how they're twins. hey, thanks to this Wild Machine, i just learned they are uncredited identical twins Susan and Jennifer Baker. i was somewhere around... mmm, it must've been seven or maybe eight years old, maybe younger, the first time i saw this film on HBO. the 'acid queen' sequence was the only part that i remember creeping me out, but even then, i was thrilled to see twins. twins are great. no matter what language someone speaks, they know twins when they see them. as i've often said, twins are a universal language.

check please

here's a lovely shot of the worldly and wise mrs. robinson. the leopard coat was a perfect wardrobe desicion. she's like a cat about to pounce on her innocent prey. for those of you who don't know, its anne bancroft. and she's heartbreaking in the iconic role. i think she's beautiful. i catch myself sprouting grey hairs, and i don't care. meow, what a cat. she's cunning, she's cutting, she's at times, even cruel... but she gets what she wants.

performance

the only performance that makes it, the one that really makes it, that makes it alll the way... is the one that achieves madness... roight? yes this is a production shot from the shockingly cool 1970 film 'performance.' directed by ronald cammell, photographed by the Great Nicholas Roeg, and starring mick jagger, james fox, and anita pallenberg. its groovy, its bloody, its trippy, its sexy... all ingredients for a first-class ride. this lobby card isnt the best shot i could've chosen, i know. it doesn't do the stunning photography justice. and the story is hot and cocky and smart. london underground gangsters... london underground beatniks... with one magnificent musical number. mick launches into the bluesy, raunchy 'memo from turner' somewhere in the second half. its a must. dig it.

miss julie

this is a lovely ethereal still from the 1938 movie 'jezebel.' i think it was directed by william wyler. wait, let me check. (checking... thank god for IMDB.) hey, i was right! sigh... i usually am. anyway, the face is that of bette davis. looking at her here, its hard to believe some of the studio heads at the time thought she was too plain to be considered a proper leading lady. they called her 'the little brown wren.' i've always thought she was gorgeous. and her talent was immeasurable. this is one of her most highly acclaimed roles; as the spoiled headstrong southern belle, julie. the ballroom scene is an unforgettable stab of storytelling. by the way, the man's shoulder belongs to henry fonda.

head

'...the tragedy of your time, my young friends, is that you may get exactly what you want.' mmm, so true. this is a still from the 1968 movie 'head,' directed by robert rafelson, and co-written by jack nicholson. its a great movie. i offer only one word of warning to the uneducated: do not expect a plot. (at least, not in the traditional sense.) i remember the first night i screened this movie. it was such an untraditional psychedelic pastiche that it actually caused a rift in the household for a good mmm, 11 hours or so. the musical numbers alone are worth the price of the dvd. it is an effort not ahead of its time, but perfectly in tune with its time. only preconceptions killed it. if you've never seen it, give it an open-minded shot. if you've seen it in the past, see it again with fresh eyes and a faultless stereo system.

sally

groupies are interesting girls. i believe they're a cosmic necessity. they make sure the band gets to bed at a decent hour. and makes sure they're tired enough to sleep. every girl should have one or two groupie moments in her life, if she's lucky enough to do so. just make sure you pick a worthy performer, bring a friend, and for god's sake, make sure you're not scheduled to go into work in the morning.

blown

no collection of groovy stuff is complete without at least one representation of the poster for 'blow up.' michelangelo antonioni's suspenseful snapshot of the high-fashion world of swinging late-60's london. i wish i could say i'd seen the movie more than once. but i can say that this image, or some variation of it, has followed me along every step of my travels for the last 15 or so years. no wall is complete without some version of the undyingly mod 'blow-up' poster. so dig it.

(by the way, that's david hemmings with the camera, and veruschka on the floor.)