Senses of Cinema no. 42

The latest issue (no. 42) of the online film journal Senses of Cinema (published quarterly) is now out. I have read the occasional article but I'm going to try to read most if not all the articles over the next three months. For the first time, I submitted my top 10 films of the past year, which were published along with those of 80 others as 2006 World Poll. A summary of the year's first edition is below.

Senses of Cinema issue no. 42 Jan-Mar 2007

2006 World Poll Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

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Mann’s World

Gravity of the Flux: Michael Mann’s Miami Vice by Jean-Baptiste Thoret
Mann’s film is more than a mere transposition of the 1980s television series onto the big screen; it extends the thematic and stylistic complexities of Mann’s œuvre in ways that, at first, may seem less than apparent.

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The Moral of the Auteur Theory

American Triptych: Vidor, Hawks and Ford by Tag Gallagher
Three legendary classical directors are put under the spotlight, and the results of Gallagher’s analysis are always illuminating and surprising.

“The Moral of the Auteur Theory”: Frank Borzage’s Moonrise (and Theodore Strauss’ Source Novel) by Holger Römers
Borzage’s 1948 film is often acknowledged as his last masterpiece; Römers argues it “remains a particularly elusive movie in film history” and speculates on the reasons why.

“What I Really Want to do is Direct”: Directors as Depicted on Film and Television by Richard Franklin
The director of, among others, Roadgames, Psycho II and Hotel Sorrento, offers an insightful reflection on an issue close to his heart and profession.

Art Variables and Life Variables in La Belle noiseuse by Tony McKibbin
An extensive reappraisal of Jacques Rivette’s mesmerising study of a painter and his model, and the ethical divide between life and art.

Re-engaging with Life: Walerian Borowczyk’s Lost Film, “L’Armoire” by Scott Murray
The recent release on DVD of the long-lost and unlamented Collections Privées has Murray exploring the labyrinthine world of Walerian Borowczyk's remarkable episode, “L’Armoire”, based on a short story by Guy de Maupassant.

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Cinema Engagé

Cinema in a State of Conflict: An Interview with Amos Gitaï by Damon Smith
The fabled Israeli filmmaker speaks at length about his cinema, the tortured history and politics of the Middle East, his interest in landscape, architecture, and the stories of people caught within and between State-imposed geo-political boundaries.

Tender Speaking: An Interview with Christoph Hochhäusler by Marco Abel
French critics coined the term Nouvelle Vague Allemande in response to the rise of a new wave of filmmaking in Germany. In this wide-ranging interview, the filmmaker and co-editor of the magazine Revolver discusses the current state of German cinema in the light of its history, and the cultural and æsthetic ideas that impact on his films and thinking.

Hidden’s Disinherited Children by Helen Macallan and Andrew Plain
A thorough examination of Michael Haneke’s troubling film about the sins of the past and their effects on the present.

Le Gai savoir by Steve Jankowiak
Reflections on Jean-Luc Godard’s 1969 essay-film and his avowed “return to zero” as a filmmaker.

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Independent Australian Cinema

Noir by Day: Interview with Jonathan Ogilvie on Emulsion by Hussain Currimbhoy
After having his first two short films screened at respective Cannes Film Festivals in the mid-1990s, a decade later director Ogilvie has shot his first feature on Super 8.

Turnstyled, Junkpiled: On High or Dry by Bill Craske

Bill Craske looks at one of the best low-budget feature documentaries about the vicissitudes of the drug life.

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DVD Reviews

Mauritz Stiller on DVD: Sir Arne’s Treasure; Gösta Berlings Saga; Erotikon (Kino DVD) review by Peter Hourigan

6 or 7 DVDs: Jean-Luc Godard in Region 4 review by Matthew Clayfield

The Prisoner of Shark Island (Masters of Cinema) review by Peter Hourigan

Dust Devil – The Final Cut: Two DVD versions review by James Rose

Alice (Lusomundo) review by Paul Jackson

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Festival Reports

Syndromes of an Inland Film Snob Empire: The 44^th New York Film Festival by Kevin B. Lee

The Pick of Pusan: The 11^th Pusan International Film Festival by Alan Stanbrook

“Queers Being” and “Being Queer”: The 9^th Annual queerDOC Documentary Festival by Maija Howe

Where Life is a Film: The 12^th Sarajevo Film Festival by Tamara Plakalo

New Asian Ventures: The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival by John Orr

The State of the World According to the 2006 Thessaloniki Film Festival by Richard Porton

Film Culture… and How to Make a Festival of It!: The 24^th Torino Film Festival by Olaf Möller

The Last Picture Shows: Midnight Madness Films at the 31^st Toronto International Film Festival by Brandon Wee

Why are We in Vancouver? by Geoff Gardner

Elusive Reality: The 25^th Vancouver International Film Festival by Bérénice Reynaud

Void in the Voices: The 44^th Vienna International Film Festival (Viennale) by Martina Lunzer and Barbara Wurm

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Book Reviews

figures traced in light: On Cinematic Staging and The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies by David Bordwell feature review by John Orr

Jean Cocteau by James S. Williams review by Patrick Ellis

The Encyclopedia of British Film and The Cinema of Britain and Ireland edited by Brian McFarlane review by Daniel Gritten

Bombay by Lalitha Gopalan review by Megan Carrigy

The Modern Amazons: Warrior Women On-Screen by Dominique Mainon and James Ursini review by Catherine Gomes

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Also new the issue

5 profiles have been added to the Great Directors critical database:
Guy Debord • Alejandro Jodorowsky • Rouben Mamoulian • George A. Romero • King Vidor

13 new annotations have been added to the Cinémathèque Annotations on Film section:
Au hasard Balthazar • Beau travail • Bitter Victory • Jacques Rivette - Le veilleur • The Naked Kiss • Park Row • Rebel Without a Cause • Il Vangelo secondo Matteo • Les Yeux sans visage
Krzysztof Kieslowski: Blind Chance • Camera Buff • Three Colours: Blue • Three Colours: Red

14 new lists have been added to the Top Tens section.