| Re: Season of the Severed Head, resumed |
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| Parry (parry@perfectmail.com) |
2003/09/25 14:25 |
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From: parry@perfectmail.com (Parry)
Newsgroups: alt.surrealism
Subject: Re: Season of the Severed Head, resumed
Date: 25 Sep 2003 13:25:44 -0700
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elag <elag@cloud9.net> wrote in message news:<3F726F74.A7255A82@cloud9.net>...
[snip for length]
> Parry wrote:
> > > I decided to check out "Black Sunday". If I like that I can see the
> > > rest on tape, though I hear the dubs are poor for some reason.
> >
> > It's pretty much potluck what you get with 60's horror videos.
> > Consider the history of "Black Sunday." The American theatrical
> > release replaced the Italian score with a Les Baxter soundtrack,
> > rewrote the dialogue to flatten it, and cut out scenes (though they
> > left in the more explicit violence). The release in Britain, once the
> > ban was lifted, was closer to Bava's film, except the more explicit
> > violence had been excised. Then with videos, it's often the case that
> > a company will put out some public domain print of a film, maybe from
> > a terrible source, maybe a print in terrible condition, etc.
>
> Yes that is pretty common, especially when they deal with the more
> declasse genres like horror.
>
> I saw the Italian version (director's cut). It was very enjoyable,
> though I found it more funny than scary. The garish unmotivated
> lighting, especially in the vampire story, was particularly amusing to
> me. I actually did find some of the "Drop of Water" to be fascinatingly
> nighmarish. I also thought the parting shot of Karloff where the camera
> pulls back to reveal that he's on a mechanical horse was appropriately
> reflexive, since I think this film belongs in the camp horror camp.
Sounds like actually saw "Black Sabbath," which I haven't seen but I
always get Barbara Steele and Boris Karloff mixed up too.
> > > > > > > I just recently saw "Pierrot
> > > > > > > Le Fou". Somewhere I read that this is the film where "Godard tries to
> > > > > > > do everything and almost succeeds" and I'd agree w/ that. It is a very
> > > > > > > interesting film, but I guess it's another one that would frustrate the
> > > > > > > "average movie goer". What the hell is it about, anyway?!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > I have the script lying around somewhere. I'll have to fish it out.
> > > > >
> > > > > Well, I do know what it's about... it's just that it's about so many
> > > > > things. The literary refs are so many that it demands to be seen a
> > > > > couple of times... it's the kind of film that requires footnotes, but I
> > > > > groove on that sort of thing.
> > > >
> > > > In that case, *you* should have a copy of the script.
> > >
> > > That might be interesting to read. I don't read scripts very often, but
> > > I did find "Exterminating Angel" an enjoyable read. I think the
> > > repetitions work very well in the printed form.
> >
> > Or "Simon of the Desert" -- invaluable because I've never seen a print
> > with legible subtitles.
>
> I happen to have that script as well, but I never read it. I always
> feel somewhat defeated in advance when the script has been translated
> from another language.
I don't have that concern as I'm stuck with one language -- a silly
language with words like "onomastics," "spalpeen," "belsnickle" and
"yomp." At least scripts which have been translated are more complete
than subtitles.
> > > > All I know about the future is that it will be expensive.
> > >
> > > Yes, technoaddiction has turned out to be a withering weapon in the
> > > cause of mass consumption. I like to balance what high tech I do use w/
> > > as much low tech as possible. I grind coffee and juice oranges by hand
> > > even as I depend on my answering machine to be my personal assistant.
> >
> > My inadvertent vow of poverty has at least saved me from the trap of
> > technoaddiction.
>
> Poverty above a certain level isn't so bad. You've got free books and
> movies at the library... free art at museums and galleries... good cheap
> food if you can learn to cook... and plenty of time for nappin'. I
> don't envy the rich much even though I could surely make better use of
> their millions... the chains around their ankles seem too heavy to me
> even if they don't seem to perceive them.
My difficulty was that when the government was handing out massive
fortunes they asked "what do you intend to do with the money" and I
said "I'd be Nikolai Ceascescu," and I haven't heard back on the
application.
> I often think of this quote from "Tropic of Cancer":
>
> "I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. A
> year ago, six months ago, I thought that I was an artist. I no longer
> think about it, _I am_. Everything that was literature has fallen from
> me. There are no more books to be written, thank God. "This then? This
> is not a book. This is libel, slander, and defamation of character. This
> is not a book, in the ordinary sense of the word. No, this is a
> prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of Art, a kick in the pants
> sing for you, a little off-key perhaps, but I will sing. I will sing
> while you croak, I will dance over your dirty corpse."
Nice bit. I lacked the patience, though, to wade through Miller's
ramblings to extract the good bits.
> > > > > > Just curious: have you seen any of Walerian Borowczyk's animations? I
> > > > > > haven't, but the stills from them are intriguing and I enjoyed his
> > > > > > (live action) features.
> > > > >
> > > > > No, but they do look interesting... I wonder where I might find them...
> > > >
> > > > I recall a place called Luminoius Video Wurks in Medford, NY peddling
> > > > a compilation tape (surely dubbed from a Eurpoean release), so perhaps
> > > > some enterprising video rental in your area may have it.
> >
> > Just noticed I misspelled "Luminous." That's how they spelled "wurks,"
> > though.
> >
> > > I expect so... onto the list it goes.
> > >
> > > > > His 2-D & 3-D art is also very nice.
> > > >
> > > > Where have you seen his 3-D art?
> > >
> > > I believe there are at least a couple of images in this gallery:
> > >
> > > http://www.awn.com/gallery/boro/gal01.html
> >
> > Nice site. I notice some images share titles with his animations, so
> > wonder if they aren't cels.
>
> I think most of them are watercolor, gouache, ink, oils on paper and the
> like. I don't recall any labelled as cels, but it's possible. I
> thought that some may have been designs used in his animations or even
> backgrounds, but w/o seeing his films I can't say.
>
> The several wood assemblages are my faves.
>
> > > ....
> > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Pie eyes require pie.
> > > >
> > > > Never touch the stuff (booze, that is; pies are okay).
> > >
> > > I was thinking more in the vein of cartoon characters' eyes... with a
> > > slice taken out to make them more expressive...
> > >
> > > http://members.tripod.com/raenae54/index-2.html
> > >
> > > ...as to pies, I prefer cherry... but I always eat all the sour pie
> > > cherries before there's time to bake any pies.
> >
> > Yes, cherry is the best, though there's a lot to be said for pumpkin.
> > Aren't you glad Google is capturing this conversation for posterity?
>
> It doesn't bother me... there's nothing wrong w/ a bit of digression...
> and even Surrealists have to eat. Sure too much digression might lead
> to an overdose of entropy but it's good to keep in mind the old school
> Surrealists fondness for digressions and trivia... like Aragon's loving
> description of the drinks menu in his favorite cafe as expounded in
> "Paris Peasant" or Bunuel's paens to the perfect martini in "Discrete
> Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "My Last Sigh".
>
> When Breton and chums hung around at "Les Deux Magots" they surely
> didn't spend all their time talking about heady matters of Theory &
> Revolution. There must have been a measure of "small talk" as well.
Why are you evading the question of pumpkin?
> > > > The gifs were quite nice and, despite not being long enough to have
> > > > actual gags, funny.
> > >
> > > Good, I'd hoped to create characters that just "look funny" no matter
> > > what they actually do.
> > >
> > > > The rickety motion has a nice comic effect of
> > > > making the character seem happy and oblivious like a wobbly toddler.
> > >
> > > I do want to ultimately improve the animation, and add a bit more
> > > "bounce", but I want to preserve a bit of the crude quality of the early
> > > toons.
> >
> > I thought it was interesting that the shortcuts you took in the
> > animation worked as a sort of axle for the motion -- the contrast
> > between the stable parts and the moving parts of the image worked to
> > your advantage.
>
> This is an accepted animation technique, though I carried it out w/
> exceptional crudity. Figures are usually broken up into layers so that
> parts not moving in one frame don't have to be redrawn. Hopefully my
> end result will be far more fluid.
I didn't see it in terms of crudity, though. When Hanna-Barbara looped
a moving background it was obvious even to a kid that it was because
they were working on the cheap, but now one can use that technique as
a sort of quote. So the technique was funny in the context of your gif
loop. Would the gif have been as funny if the background was more
realistic? Is over-animation a danger, where computers can insert the
twisted reflections of passing scenery on the spinning hubcap of a
car? Do audiences come to regard such pointless detail as a mark of
good animation?
> > > > He's so buoyant I expect something grand guignol to beset him.
> > >
> > > He is supposed to have a kind of Harold Lloyd happy go lucky quality,
> > > but without all the ambition. Of course he will stumble into trouble at
> > > every turn.
> > >
> > > > Is this character one you're planning to use? He's reminiscent of a golliwog,
> > > > so that may be a source of friction.
> > >
> > > Yes, he is known as Mr. Blank. He is all black mainly becouse black
> > > characters are easier to animate, or at least it's derived from that
> > > tendency in the early toons. I hope to avoid any "racial" associations
> > > and make it clear that he is merely an extremely simplified
> > > representation of a man who is ink black rather than any realistic
> > > color. There's probably no way to totally avoid the "racial"
> > > associations in these fractious times, but I will try to avoid any
> > > explicit or implicit references to "race".
> > >
> > > I've balanced him with Mr. White who is a negative image of Blank with a
> > > bowler hat and wide tie.
> >
> > But, but...
> >
> > > I'm not sure if this makes the situation worse
> > > but hopefully the mirrored simplified facial features will make clear
> > > the characters' reduction to symbols.
> >
> > I suppose you could always change White's name to Mr. Wipe or
> > something to that effect, but it may never be an issue. Depends on the
> > level of paranoia in whoever sees it.
>
> I chose "blank" and "white" because they're both a sort of shorthand for
> a "tabula rasa" or "blank page". I can see the problem w/ a white
> character named "White" but I choose to ignore it. Since these two are
> simplified even more than the other people in the toon, I think the idea
> of "blank" figures will carry, at least to some degree. Since they have
> no lips or hair and sport rubber clown noses and don't do any "racial"
> schtick I hope that only the most paranoid will take pause.
>
> > Care to kick around some of your plot notions?
>
> I've roughed out a preliminary storyboard which include the basic plot points:
Of course I've elaborated on it. This is "alt.surrealism" after all...
-Blank walks Jazzily down the street
-He sees a film marquee for "Old Banjo Nose" and holds his nose in
disdain
-"Old Banjo Nose" animates and sticks out his tongue
-a black limousine pull ups
-a half-eaten sandwich is thrown from the window and the limo drives
off
-Blank reaches for the sandwich but a rat scurries up to claim it
-both characters tug at the sandwich until the rat pulls a knife and
Blank retreats
-Blank watches a dress mannikin being undressed and digs it
-the window dresser plants a kiss on the mannequin
-Blank gets moon-eyed
-the manequin sticks out his tongue at Blank and the window dresser
slams the curtain closed on the window
-a white limousine pulls up and stops
-in very quick action a ritzy old fellow and two bubbly young woman
exit the limo, go into the dress shop, re-emerge with arms laden with
boxes, and drive off
-as the limo drives off, it splashes a puddle of water at Blank, but
the wall of water courteously stand suspended long enough for Blank to
step out of the way
-Blank smells something good
-Sees tasty 10 cent cakes in bakery window
-he stares into the window at the cakes which anthropomorphise and
start caressing themselves seductively
-with the image fromed from the window's point of view, Blank hears a
smacking sound and turns his head to see White is also standing there
ogling the cakes
-Blank checks pockets which are empty but for a screw and a rubber
ball
-the rat drives by in the back of a small open car driven by a mouse,
and flicks cigar ash at the heroes
-the ash rolls to a stop around a dime
back at the dime, etc.
-they dive for it and knock heads
-tweeting birds fly around their heads
-as their eyes slow spinning, the birds crash into their heads
-mariachi bands and a Chinese street fetival with elaborate kites
circle their heads, followed by the street cleaner (as in Bullwinkle),
then two kids sharing a lollipop
-Blank and White regain consciousness and growl at each other, but
then reflect on their vision of the children
-Blank suggests sharing
-White agrees and proposes that Blank use the dime to buy a cake and
White will eat it
-Blank refines the proposal so that they both use the dime to buy a
cake and split it
-White agrees so long as it's a chocolate cake
-Blank grimaces -- perhaps flashing back to the childhood moment when
he realised the chocolate bar he was chomping was writhing with
maggots -- and demands vanilla
-White says he normally wouldn't bargain with a stranger but he likes
Blank's face so howzabout they flip for it
-they flip they coin which spins in the air an abnormally long time
-as the coin spins mid-air they see the baker put another cake in the
window "new cake -- half chocolate / half vanilla"
-the coin plummets into the sewer
-they can't get the sewer grate open so they tie it to a dog's tail
and get it to chase a cat
-they climb down into the sewer
-they light a match but a mouse keeps blowing it out
-mouse steals the dime and floats away in an empty tomato can
-White makes a boat out of a disgarded newspaper and they take off in
pursuit...
> That ought to give you a bit of the flavor...
>
> > > > The Little Rascals-type music was easy to imagine without your having
> > > > to prompt me. Robert Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders once covered that
> > > > theme and that version sprang to mind.
> > >
> > > I'll have to pick up one of their albums one of these days, if I can
> > > find them. You'd like the "Beau Hunks" who were associated w/ Crumb.
> > > He did some art for their recordings of the Rascals composer Leroy Shield:
> > >
> > > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000005YQ4/qid=1063509627/sr=1-7/ref=sr_1_7/103-6909268-9789430?v=glance&s=music
> > >
> > > if you can listen to the samples (scroll down), "Beautiful Lady" was the
> > > track I had in mind... unfortunately the disk is tough to find
> >
> > It was fun, but I thought their sound lacked edge. The best thing
> > about the Serenaders was their sloppiness.
>
> I love it. These guys work more in the vein of historical recreation.
> On this particular CD they've recreated brilliantly music which no
> longer existed as complete songs, only as background snippets. I, for
> one greatly appreciate it. I've always had an interest in incidental
> and background music and other ignored areas of musical history. I look
> at such things as the sountracks to my subconscious.
>
> > You could always just copy the music from a video soundtrack, but I thought you intended to play
> > the music yourself (to save the expense, if nothing else).
>
> I will play it myself, but I'm not beyond cannibalizing old
> orchestrations. I've always been more of a sound collage-ist than a
> musician. I do find Leroy Sheild's music to be inspirational.
>
> > Or you
> > could put a request to one of the mp3 groups, some of which are rather
> > specialised. If you do, maybe try to find Temperance 7 while you're at
> > it. They were a British group in the early 60's, along with The
> > Alberts and the like, that humorously revived atavistic jazz styles.
> >
> > > They do have a disc of Raymond Scott's music (Warner Bros. cartoon
> > > music), and other stuff that may still be in stores.
> >
> > Scott's stuff, you probably know, pre-existed the cartoons. On the
> > down side, the music may be too over-exposed at this point to want to
> > use; on the up side, Scott managed to get a fine audio quality for his
> > time, so it might be good to hear the originals for a change in a
> > cartoon.
>
> I won't use it I just enjoy listening to it. I liked the versions from
> "The Carl Stalling Project" and if I get my hands on the originals I'm
> sure I'll dig that too. I must admit that I have a preference for the
> cuts that still have the cartoon FX embedded. It would be nice to be
> able to turn that on and off, though.
There was a well-done collection called "The Music of Raymond Scott:
Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights" which I bet you could find
easily enough in a good used cd store.
> > A few years ago, a jazz combo (Don Byron, "Bug Music")
> > recreated some of Scott's recordings, doing a decent job though
> > naturally some of the personality of the originals is missing.
> >
> > > > For other old-time recordings,
> > > > maybe too old actually, you might check the on-line Edison cylinder
> > > > archive (there's a Portland, Oregon connection, incidentally):
> > > > http://www.tinfoil.com/
> > >
> > > Yes, too early... but very very interesting. "The Dixie Rube" was the
> > > kind of thing that might make for a good old style tune though.
> >
> > Some of the recordings have a creepy quality which is nice, but the
> > music tends to be dead on its feet. I believe it wasn't until the 20's
> > that they started recording music that had life in it.
>
> I do have a preference for post 1919 Jazz, but even some of the earlier
> Dixieland type songs can be kind of nice, though the recordings are a
> bit muddy. I think I'm going to dip into a bit of King Oliver.
The recordings are terrible, though at the time people likely thought
they sounded great. I would like to hear more of the old recordings,
though, as I'm a music junkie. If memory serves, it was in the 20's
that people started recording musics which I guess were previously
considered culturally insignificant -- by hillbillies, blacks, etc.
It's all probably available in some form or other. For instance, a few
years ago there was a cd series of ethnographic musics ("world music")
recorded in the 20's.
-- Parry
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