After the success of Breathing, her haunting collaboration with composer Michael Karlsson, film-maker Anna Österlund has returned with her latest short, Clara - a beautiful and impressionistic film examining the conflicting pressures of motherhood.

‘I made the film after hearing designer and musician Jenny Grettve‘s music and seeing her collection which drew inspiration from the 19th century composer Clara Schumann.

‘Clara was a mother of 7 children, and yet, she was considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era.

‘In the eyes of society, being a performer and the main breadwinner for her family, Clara was in direct conflict with the expected role as a wife and mother. Some of the hardships she must have gone through in combining the two, I also see in my friend Jenny’s life. She’s had 3 kids within 3 years, while at the same time she started her own fashion brand.

‘I see the joy, the love and the struggle, the wish to drop everything, yet embracing it, and the fantastic creativity that comes out of being under such a pressure.

‘So I asked her to just act herself in her own collection and I put her in contrasting situations involving her, her kids, music and creativity, and let the camera roll.

‘I worked with symbols from classic paintings such as the apple symbolising temptaition, and other symbols showing struggle, hard work, restlesness and love. I’m leaving it up to the viewers to make their own interpretations, but everything is there for a reason.’

Prior to film-making, Anna set-up her own highly successful design company Ravishing Mad in 2007, which she described as a contrast of things she loves: ‘being outrageous and yet stunning, clean but not strict, dirty and oh so powerful.’

Anna was born and raised just outside Stockholm. She had a rather lonely childhood, and was often bullied by other kids. To escape Anna spent much of her time alone in her room drawing and sewing, while listening to music. It was the kind of existence that focussed her talents and ambitions.

Once Ravishing Mad was a success, Anna wanted to find new outlets for her cretaivity. ‘I bought a camera and got back into filming, photographing and writing, collaborating with musicians and dancers along with my work in fashion. Now I’m enjoying myself like I never thought possible and my biggest joy is the mix of doing everything.

Anna describes Clara as a mix of music video, fashion video and short film.  ‘Call it whatever you like, but it’s not very typical of the first two. What I’m interested in is awakening emotions and adding an expression that is different to what you see every day.

‘There is an indie feel to most of my work and I have a weakness for the unpolished. I grew up during the 80’s and 90’s and remember how I as a child and teen I recorded films on top of each other until they were completely worn out. I’m so in love with the faults and beauty in old VHS copies and it’s probably a way for me to romanticise the moments when I saw some of my favorite films for the first time. I think my past is quite visible in my work and I try to be honest and to create my own magic world that I can invite fantastic people into.’
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

‘Breathing’: A haunting and eerie short film by Michael Karlsson, Anna Österlund and Truls Bråhammar

 
A grindhouse favorite from the late 1980s, Lady Terminator is an Indonesian splatter fest with more than enough gratuitous violence, nudity, senseless slaughter and penile dismemberment to keep your average gore hound more than satiated. And it’s so over the top and silly that any potential psychological damage is pretty much neutralized by the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

I saw Lady Terminator at an Asian film festival in Manhattan in 1989 and it had the audience roaring with laughter and yelling at the screen…and this wasn’t at a Times Square theater. It was in the Village and the usually sedate arthouse crowd was temporarily transformed into the kind of nutzoid audience you’d expect over at The Lyric or The Harris on 42nd street. It was fucking crazy. But penile dismemberment will do that to a crowd.

The spawn of an evil sorceress and a horny sea serpent, Lady Terminator seems to suffer from some form of reverse penis envy in which she is pathologically driven to emasculate every man she comes in contact with. The hapless cock is no match for a Glock or AK47, so penises are separated from their owners with the speed and efficiency of bottles of champagne being uncorked on New Year’s Eve. When it comes to the battle of the sexes, “Lady Terminator” makes Valerie Solanas look like Olive Oyl. She doesn’t fuck around - or even when she does, she’s deadly anyway.

So here you go. A nice quality YouTube upload of Lady Terminator. Enjoy and thank me later.
 

 
I was never much of a fan of Annie Hall. I couldn’t honestly believe anyone would want to spend time with someone who seemed to be so alienated from their own feelings. I sat in the cinema thinking “Get oan wi’ it. Dae something”. But all that happened was introspective discourse and humor as deflection. Sure it had funny moments, but it seemed a million miles away from my life and the lives of those around me. And it seemed indulgent.

Yet, Annie Hall marked the turning point when Allen’s unique brand of humor conquered the world, and changed film and TV comedy for the next 3 decades, right up to Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Allen was suddenly everywhere - from the covers of Newsweek and Time, to lengthy interviews on French TV and the South Bank Show. He was the pin-up of geeks and the bourgeoisie, and Annie Hall was a lifestyle choice.

Still, none of that takes away from the fact Woody Allen is a comic genius, and a brilliantly talented writer and director of films.

This fascinating documentary captures Allen not long after his Oscar success with Annie Hall and the release of his follow-up movie Interiors. Made for French TV in 1979 by Jacques Meny, and actress/journalist, France Roche, this documentary takes the neurotic King of Comedy through his childhood, early career, and success as writer filmmaker. Though the voice over is French, Allen’s interview is in English. 
 

 
If you’re feeling a little unmotivated, here’s a supercut to jumpstart your day. Better than coffee, Modalert or one of those 5 hour energy shots.

Zach Prewitt’s supercut features some in your face editing. Imagine this in 3D.

Go to Prewitt’s Youtube channel to see the list of films included in the clip.
 

 
Peter Sellers didn’t know he was dying, he believed he was going to live until he was seventy-five. That’s what his spirit guide, the ghost of Victorian Music Hall performer, Dan Leno had told him.

Sellers was terribly superstitious, his film career had often turned on the say-so of his clairvoyant, Maurice Woodruff. By the early 1970s, Sellers believed he was similarly able to communicate with the spirit world. He also recounted to his friends how he had been various famous people in various past lives. His colleague and friend Spike Milligan, poked fun at Sellers’ beliefs, pointing out that he was always Napoleon, or Ceaser, or Leonardo da Vinci in his past life, rather than some ordinary joe.

Perhaps Sellers should have listened to Milligan, for he may not have been so credulous. He may even have uncovered that his faithful clairvoyant Woodruff was in the pay of the film studios, and his advice on starring roles was not inspired by Tarot, but rather on the size of check Woodruff received. Similarly he may found out his beloved Leno had died babbling insane, a victim of tertiary syphilis.

If Sellers had stuck more to the real world, then he may have accepted Dr. Christiaan Barnard’s offer in 1976 of open-heart surgery and the bypass that would have certainly lengthened his life. Though he attended a heart operation and photographed Barnard at work, Sellers was fearful he would die on the operating table as he had in 1964, after suffering 8 heart attacks.

Come 1980, with the failure of his third marriage to Lynne Frederick, and a grueling work schedule, Sellers was physically exhausted. As before at such times, he reached out to those people who had created some of his happiest working days: his fellow Goons, Spike Milligan and Harry Secombe.

Two months before he died, Sellers wrote to Milligan in the hope that the 3 of them would once again work together on some new comedy shows. Sadly it wasn’t to be, as hours before the 3 men were about to meet, on the 22nd of July, Sellers suffered a fatal heart attack.

PADDINGTON

28 MAY 80

MR SPIKE MILLIGAN

DEAR SPIKE I AM DESPERATE TO HAVE SOME REAL FUN AGAIN WITH YOU AND HARRY. PLEASE CAN WE GET TOGETHER AND WRITE SOME MORE GOON SHOWS? WE COULD PLACE THEM ANYWHERE I DONT WANT ANY MONEY I WILL WORK JUST FOR THE SHEER JOY OF BEING WITH YOU BOTH AGAIN AS WE WERE.

LOVE

PETER

 

 
Now a classic Goon Show sketch, “What time is it, Eccles?”
 

 
Previously on Dangerous Minds

The Paranormal Peter Sellers

 
Via Letters of Note, with thanks to Tara McGinley
 

 
Of all the great drug movies and novels, none have quite had the romance of Drugstore Cowboy. Gus Van Sant’s 1989 proto-grunge independent film endeared audiences to junkie protagonists who gang up to rob drugstores to support their habit. It was such an engaging story that Van Sant made the movie before author James Fogle even published the book- a literary gem lauded by William S. Burroughs, who appears in the film.

James Fogle wrote 11 novels, all in prison, but Drugstore Cowboy was the only one ever published. Despite the commercial success of the book, Fogle was in and out facilities for theft and drug use most of his life; he actually stole his first car when he was 12. His chances at a successful life in mainstream society always seemed frivolously tossed away in lieu of drugs or (often elaborate) thefts in order to obtain those drugs. In one of the great beautiful ironies of many a beloved junkie artist, he did not die of an overdose, instead passing in prison of a lung cancer related to asbestos. The cancer is believed to have developed as a result of his work pipe-fitting, a trade he was taught in prison so that he might have a skill upon his reform.
 

 
Someone was kind enough to post an HD file of “Desinto,” the animated short that Surrealist painter Salvador Dali and Walt Disney collaborated on for over eight months in 1945 and 1946 (along with Disney artist John Hench who did the storyboards). The film was eventually shelved due to WWII-era financial problems at Disney’s company. Dalí described the film as “a magical display of the problem of life in the labyrinth of time” and Disney said it was “a simple story about a young girl in search of true love.”

“Destino” came out of its cryogenic deep freeze in 1999 when it was revived by Roy Disney, then working on Fantasia 2000. The short film was constructed from the existing story art and production notes, a 17-second animation test, talking to John Hench and a few clues gleaned from Gala Dali’s personal writings. “Destino” was directed by French animator Dominique Monfréy (his first directorial credit) at the Paris offices of Disney Studios France and a team of over 20 others.

The “plot” of “Destino” involves a tragic love story: Chronos (time) falls in love with a mortal woman and they cannot be together. They dance across surrealist landscapes. Dalinian things happen.

The 17 seconds of extant footage from the ill-fated project is the bit with the Dalian parade floats on turtles moving towards each other as the baseball player looks on. Also, it’s worth mentioning, that there would have been a mix of animation and live action dancers in Dali and Disney’s original vision for “Destino.” The appropriately yearning soundtrack is a song by the Mexican composer Armando Dominguez, sung by Dora Luz.

I’ve seen “Destino” twice in museums (the huge Dali career retrospective exhibit in Philadelphia back in 2005 and the LACMA show focusing on Dali’s work in Hollywood). I loved it, but I have problems with it. It’s a remarkable work of art, don’t get me wrong, I think “Destino” is pretty great, but it’s not really a Dali/Disney collaboration like it was hyped-up to be, but something more accurately described as the work of that was inspired by (however faithfully) Dali and Disney’s vision. I was expecting something “archival” or “vintage” I suppose, so therein lay my disappointment, as a huge Dali buff, nothing to do with the actual work, which is marvelous, as anyone can see.

“Destino” is available as a special feature on the Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 special edition Blu-ray. There’s a gallery of some of the production art and correspondence between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali at the great Disney fanblog 2719 Hyperion.
 

 
It’s Keith Moon’s birthday and I thought I’d share Amazing Journey: The Story of the Who to commemorate the life of one of rock ‘n’ roll’s genuinely great drummers. This detailed and entertaining two hour documentary (plus an hour and a half of extras) was co-directed by Murray Lerner who first filmed The Who at the Isle Of Wight in 1970 ( in addition to Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and Leonard Cohen) as well as documenting Dylan’s historic plugged-in performance at the Newport Folk Festival in the mid-Sixties. Lerner is a legend among fans of rock for his ability to be in the right place at the right time and getting it all on film. Along with co-director Paul Crowder, Lerner manages to tackle a big subject and bring it all home in Amazing Journey. They are helped considerably by Pete Townsend’s enthusiastic and no-holds-barred participation.

This film reminds me of what I loved about The Who in the first place and have somewhat forgotten over the years. The Monterey Pop footage is epic beyond belief and truly one of the defining moments in the history of punk rock and rock in general..
 

 
Part two after the jump…

 
Milos Forman’s Taking Off is one of the very few American movies that dealt with the 1960s’ “generation gap” with a clear-eyed lack of hysteria and hype. Forman’s sympathetic direction and screenplay (co-written by John Guare) is witty, wise and passes no judgement on its characters - everyone is going through messy changes in Taking Off and ultimately everybody in the movie has something to learn from everybody else.

When it was released in 1971, I remember thinking how refreshing it was to see a movie about hippies and drugs that wasn’t moralistic or pumped up with melodrama. In Taking Off, the kids really are alright. Even though there really aren’t a lot of hippies or drugs in the film, Forman condenses the spirit of the era in just a few well-constructed set pieces that capture the changes taking place at the time. The audition scenes where we encounter dozens of young faces of women who are flowering, transitioning from repression into freedom, hints at a revolution brewing. Forman’s empathy for the spirit of rebellion was further put to good use in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest and Hair.    

Taking Off has many memorable scenes. Among my favorites is Vincent Schiavelli schooling a room full of squares on how to smoke pot. It is particularly hilarious with a really sweet vibe and I get a contact high every time I watch it. Other notable moments are Bobo (Kathy) Bates singing her song “And Even The Horses Had Wings” and an all-too-brief performance by Ike and Tina Turner tearing it up on the stage of a Catskills resort. Also, keep an eye out for Carly Simon (she’s not hard to spot) and check out how “Air” by The Incredible String Band is used to lovely effect.

Taking Off is an unpretentious little masterpiece that is inexplicably unavailable on VHS or DVD in the USA. I purchased my Blu-ray copy from France. How is it that it’s available in France (on Blu-ray!) and unavailable in the States? Makes no sense. Fortunately, I found the movie in full on Youtube in a fine quality upload. Enjoy.
 

 
You’d have to be a complete numbskull to make Gram Parsons’ life anything less than compelling. Fortunately, Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel, directed with empathy and intelligence by Gandulf Hennig, creates a well-rounded and fascinating portrait of Parsons’ brief stint on planet Earth using not much more than a bunch of talking heads. Hennig deserves credit for getting the right heads to do the talking.

Emmylou Harris, Chris Hillman, Dwight Yokum, Peter Buck, Keith Richards, Phil Kaufman, Bernie Leadon, Gretchen Parsons Carpenter, Diane Parsons, Polly Parsons, James Burton and others share their stories and insights about one of the pioneers of country-rock. The Grievous Angel didn’t live long but his presence looms large in the lives of generations of musicians seeking the real, true, twang in the heart of American music.

This is a very fine documentary.