I felt like doing an essay on this subject matter, simply because this is where I'm at right now.
Diane Keaton at the end of LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR (Richard Brooks, 77) 
(Sheri Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, 2003)
A bad apple. ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2012)
He sees you. Raymond Burr in REAR WINDOW (Alfred Hitchcock, 54)
A single second from VERY NICE VERY NICE (Arthur Lipsett, 61)
The decimated kitchen from WHEN THE WIND BLOWS (Jimmy Murakami, 86)
"You're Herbie Stemple..." QUIZ SHOW (Robert Redford, 94)
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD (Alain Renais, 61)
"Can I give you a call?" TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 76)
A homeless kid listens to advice from his imprisoned father in STREETWISE (Martin Bell, 84)
"I'm delivering the milk." Pam Grier in FRIDAY FOSTER (Arthur Marks, 75)
Inside the cigar box. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (Robert Mulligan, 62)
The robin of hope, perched at the conclusion of BLUE VELVET (David Lynch, 86)
Lots of great moments. Though I'm familiar with most, I've probably seen less than half. Nice to see the recent sixties shorts making an appearance (I haven't watched 23 Skidoo yet - the last couple years, knowing what I was picking, I haven't found the time to play catch-up yet; for '65 I'll probably have to).
ReplyDeleteI like how you included some more allusively lonely images, like he ceiling of the Marienbad chateau or the robin of hope from Blue Velvet.
Plus the loneliness of celebrity and/or obsession (Ah-nold), of criminal paranoia (Rear Window), or the great deep (20,000). And of course, Louis C.K. And of course no list like this would be complete without that indelible empty image from Taxi Driver (reminds me of a lot of moments in Antonioni, who was probably on Scorsese's mind - or at least his subconscious mind - when he shot it). All in all, great exploration of a theme across genres and decades - your specialty.
I love the Charlie Brown clip too. "Bring Me the Head..." What's this all about? I'll have to check it out. Ironically, as I examined that cap, I noticed the Schulz in the movies icon on the sidebar, forgot about that post from a couple years ago but it was a good one.
Thanks for this, Dean. Often the movies provide us both confirmation and consolation for our real-world experiences.
Ah, the robin of hope at the end of BLU VELVET. A wonderful compilation with that compelling and unifying theme. Needless to say your selections ring with truth and a number are among my favorite films of all-time. I would also pose Stanley Kramer's ON THE BEACH, the horror B classic I BURY THE LIVING! and perhaps a cap from Twilight Zone's "Time Enough at Last." I love the disparity moving from Bergman's CRIES AND WHISPERS to Carol Reed's OLIVER! Fabulous visual essay Dean!
ReplyDeleteOh wow. I had heard of the animated short "Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown" decades ago but had never seen it. I had forgotten the short even existed until you mentioned it. Thanks to google and video sharing sites, the short is now easy to find (even if it is a terrible VHS copy). Thanks for jogging my memory.
ReplyDeleteNice image essay. I really like all the images you include in your blog posts. BTW, I came across your blog when I was google image-searching for a picture from Abel Gance's silent film Napoleon.
Thanks, Sydney. I really work a long time capturing exactly the images I want these days. I used to just steal them from other sources, but I found it make me feel better about my site if I did most of the image work myself. At the very least, it makes the site unique, and I'm contributing to the pool of images available from a given title. BRING ME THE HEAD OF CHARLIE BROWN was something I discovered and downloaded from stagevu.com. I was astonished by it. Found out that it was used to get its maker a long-running job on THE SIMPSONS. I'd say it paid off! I'm a huge Charlie Brown fan, and I find it hilarious, and not offensive at all.
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