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11:30 PM Turner Classic Movies
Blast of Silence (1961 USA): Once a legendary "near lost" picture, Blast of Silence recently earned admission into The Criterion Collection. I remember when the only way to see this film was via blurry, smeary, washed out bootleg videotapes, so its appearance on DVD was cause for much celebration in my household. Now it makes its television premiere tonight, and the circle of movie life is complete. Directed and written by one Allen Baron (who would later go on to direct episodes of The Love Boat and Barnaby Jones, amongst others), Blast of Silence features Allen Baron as hired killer Frank Bono, who's travelled from Cleveland to the Big Apple to fulfil the requirements of a contract. Bono must knock off wealthy Troiano (Peter Clune) - but it's Christmas time in the city, and to make matters worse, he meets an old flame (Molly McCarthy) and gets a bit distracted. Will he be able to pull off the job - or will his Yule log once again burn bright with the fires of love? A very late example of the first wave of noir, this independently produced feature is terrific all around and features some amazing NYC location footage. It's the perfect double bill partner for Taxi Driver.

Saturday 05/23/09

5:00 PM HBO
Kung Fu Panda (2008 USA): Every once in a while I like to throw you guys a curveball. I'm a sucker for Pandas and really enjoyed this kiddie flick, which I actually saw on a plane. It's a bit better known than Blast of Silence, and airs again at 8:00 PM and throughout the century.

9:00 PM IFC
PianoTuner of EarthQuakes (2005 GB-GER): The Quay Brothers returned to feature-length filmmaking with this typically bizarre offering about a mad doctor who murders an opera singer with the intention of turning her into a mechanical automaton. Gottfried John plays insane genius Droz, who kills beautiful songbird Malvina (Amira Cesar), snatches her corpse, and hightails it to his mountain villa, where he intends to re-animate it with an assist from the titular specialist (Cesar Sarachu). It's wilfully obscurantist and frequently incoherent, but utterly gorgeous to watch. I'm a huge admirer of the brother's earlier Institute Benjamenta, so if you enjoyed that one you'll probably also enjoy PianoTuner (yes, it's one word), and fans of body fetishist David Cronenberg may also come away impressed.

Monday 05/25/09

11:15 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Big Parade (1925 USA): One of the greatest American silent films, The Big Parade is King Vidor's anti-war masterpiece, and a film long, LONG overdue on DVD. Starring John Gilbert as the idle rich son of an industrialist, the film follows him to France where he falls in love with a local woman (Renee Adoree) and becomes friends with his working class comrades-in-arms, including the always great Karl Dane and Tom O'Brien. Clocking in at an epic length 126 minutes (though the original version was 15 minutes longer), The Big Parade was a huge hit for MGM and is essential viewing for any serious student (or admirer) of silent film.

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