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I found this on a massive list of Sword and Sorcery movies on Letterboxd, which is where I find obscure films that other, sharper connoisseurs already know about. Well! I was looking for something like Berserk, Excalibur, and Joan La Pucelle, and boy was this it: Bresson’s 1974 reimagining of the grand finale of the Grail Quest is as earthbound as it is transcendent, smashing the depths of legend and poetry against humanism to produce a stark vision of the end of the Age of Myth. Most of the criticisms in the Letterboxd reviews are aimed at its seeming dryness, or lack of emotion. Hooey! It’s all here. If you want to see knights cry, go watch The Witcher or something.
Nov 24, 2020
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🎥Scrolling through some of my recently watched…Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)16th century conquistadores driven to madness in the Andes. You can tell that these dudes were in the shit while filming. Always thought of this film as the original Apocalypse Now. Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Good stuff.Badlands (1973)Seen It many times. Timeless visual beauty and performance chemistry between Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek. Terrence Malick’s directorial debut. Love it.Network (1976)This screened the other night in LA while I was out of town so I rented it for the twentieth time. As relevant now as it was then. A stone-cold masterpiece. Paddy Chayefsky won an Oscar for screenplay, but it lost best picture to Rocky. Taxi Driver was also nominated. What a year!Tess (1979)Just saw this for the first time. One of Polanski’s best. Feel like he was inspired by Barry Lyndon.Year of the Jellyfish (1984)A French friend recommended this one. I think it’s kind of cherished by some as a trashy cult classic. But if you’re looking for a film full of gorgeous, topless French women on vacation in San Tropez in the 1980s, this is for you!The West (miniseries) (1996)I rewatch Ken Burns documentaries all the time. Jazz, Country Music, Baseball, Lewis & Clark, all of them. I’ve seen each one multiple times. The West is remarkable. A comprehensive deep dive into 19th century American history. 20-hours replete with unmistakable, soothing Burns-esque narration and somber songs of the old American frontier. Fascinating, harsh and profoundly sad.
May 30, 2023
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Here I am, again, begging PI.FYI to watch Sorcerer. This movie is severely overlooked because a little movie called STAR WARS released right on top of it.
Apr 26, 2025
Top Recs from @emerson-ray-rosenthal
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💃Anybody remember a clip show about banned music videos that, incidentally, ended up on one of the networks that banned them? It was either VH1 or MTV2, and they ran stuff like Nine Inch Nails’s “Closer,” Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy,” and Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up.” Anyway, I was glued to the TV whenever it came on and I think a lot of my aesthetic sensibilities came from that 90s-00s golden age, making me into (regrettably) a bit of a music video snob. No offense, but the VFX-driven spectacles of today just don’t hit when you cut your teeth on stuff from CANADA and the Directors Bureau (whose website sadly doesn’t even have their best stuff anymore). The unique exception is director Cody Critcheloe, who goes by SSION (pronounced like the latter half of *passion*), and his new video for Yves Tumor is nothing less than what I’ve come to expect from the multihyphenate: a hyperreal vision of Los Angeles replete with larger-than-life characters who are characteristically drawn up from real life, and handmade props that belong in a museum, but I’ll settle for a gallery. (In this case, it’s a smashed-up hand-painted sunburst convertible and a leather jacket with a The Cochran Firm logo.) It’s the stuff dreams are made of, cementing Critcheloe as one of the most exciting and visionary directors of our time (other notable mentions include Eugene Kotlyarenko, Anne Alexander, and Minister Akins).
Nov 24, 2020
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🎭What is, the best game show of all time? Oh, Alex. I hope you’re roasting nerds in Heaven with Grandma and Pop Pop. They were huge fans of you, too. These days, we end up watching like 2-3 episodes a night, which is okay because that’s barely an hour without commercials, and they’re only on Netflix until Nov. 27.
Nov 24, 2020
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🍸Well, we started drinking martinis. I guess it’s a cool drink. The whole point seems obvious now: it’s an easy way to get a lot of liquor down at once. The secret is that they’re cold, which makes it refreshing and not taste bad. Pretty simple. Then again, it is the simplest of cocktails, requiring only two ingredients. I’ve been using Wheatley Vodka, which is an imprint of Buffalo Trace Distillery (also the makers of Benchmark, which is a whole head and shoulders better than every cheap bourbon I’ve ever had… and I’ve had a lot, believe me), and Noilly Prat Extra Dry vermouth, which seemed like a good place to start. I’m extremely happy with the Wheatley, but as for the vermouth, I’d be willing to experiment (see also: shaking vs. stirring, and the length of time you spend on either). For science!
Nov 24, 2020