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Monday 03/16/09

2:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Henri Langlois: Phantom of the Cinematheque (2004 FRA): How'd you like to earn a living dusting off old film canisters, threading the contents into a projector, and then watching the images cast upon a screen? That's effectively how the subject of this film spent his every waking moment, whilst also creating the concept of a film archive and bringing it into existence. Henri Langlois fell in love with cinema in the 1930s and starting collecting whatever bits and pieces of film came his way. The advent of World War II saw his mission take on sudden urgency, as censorious Nazis threatened to destroy or seize films of questionable political or moral value, and by the 1960s Langlois had become a cultural icon around the world and his Cinematheque a priceless resource. It's a fascinating story enlivened by archival footage of the man himself, as well as filmmakers such as Claude Berri, Jean-Luc Godard, and Eric Rohmer.

6:00 AM Fox Movie Channel
Three Bad Men (1926 USA): 3 Bad Men (to quote the title card) is an outstanding example of the silent western and one of John Ford's earliest triumphs. The photography is stunning and the land rush sequences truly impressive, and while the story of redemption and sacrifice is predictable it is nonetheless still moving. Even if you don't care for westerns, this is worth your while.

7:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the Water (1968 USA): I got sent to Jerry Lewis re-education camp last week, but because I'm writing this before I've actually seen Arizona Dream, I can't report success yet. (Failure is not an option.) Here to help me fully appreciate the man's genius is a five-film sampling of J-Lew's talents, starting with this made in Britain comedy about an ambitious Yank's life in London town. The block continues at 9:15 AM with Hook, Line and Sinker (1969), in which our Jer portrays a man with a mistaken medical diagnosis; at 11:00 PM by Three On a Couch (1966), wherein he plays an artist with multiple personalities; at 1:00 PM by The Nutty Professor (1963), featuring one of Lewis' most famous characters, Buddy Love; and at 3:00 PM by The Big Mouth (1967), which provides the star another opportunity to portray multiple personalities. If I make it to the end of this Jerry mini-marathon, I'll be surprised. I'd rather be watching a REAL funny man — like Sammy Petrillo!

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