Starring Geraldine Chaplin

(Photo belongs to its owner/s. I don't own or claim to own this photo.)

Yes, she has her father's surname. Looks a lot like him. But there's more to Geraldine Chaplin than being Charlie's daughter.

The lovely actress turns 67 today. The eldest of Charlie Chaplin's eight children with Oona O'Neill, Geraldine first mesmerized audiences with her breakthrough performance in 1965's Doctor Zhivago.

With more than 100 films to her credit, Geraldine surely made a name for herself. She has established a prolific career in Spain, France, and Hollywood. Geraldine has also worked alongside celebrated directors like Robert Altman, David Lean, Alain Resnais, Carlos Saura, and Almodovar.

A Fusillade of Passion

THE DAMNED
Luchino Visconti, 1969

Fellini. Antonioni. Bertolucci. De Sica. Pasolini. Rossellini. And Visconti. Italian cinema would practically be nothing hadn't those names existed.

Among those filmmakers, Luchino Visconti is the one whose works I find very exciting. Most of his films are fearless; yet underneath that audaciousness lies a certain touch of overwhelming tenderness.

Death in Venice is Visconti's most popular work. (That film is a tearjerker.) While The Damned is, in my opinion, his best and sadly underrated opus.

Fave Movie Quotes: Network

Television is not the truth. Television's a goddamned amusement park! Television is a circus, a carnival, a travelling troupe of acrobats, storytellers, dancers, singers, jugglers, sideshow freaks, lion tamers, and football players. We're in the boredom-killing business. So if you want the truth, go to God. Go to your gurus. Go to yourselves! Because that's the only place you're ever gonna find any real truth. But, man, you're never gonna get any real truth from us. We'll tell you anything you wanna hear. We lie like hell. We'll tell you that Kojak always gets the killer, and that nobody ever gets cancer in Archie Bunker's house. And no matter how much trouble the hero is in, don't worry. Just look at your watch. At the end of the hour he's gonna win. We'll tell you any shit you want to hear. We deal in illusions, man. None of it is true.

- Howard Beale

Sings a Rare Tune

"Commerce should adapt to art, and not art to commerce."

- The Diva

DIVA
Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981

The 1980s saw the emergence of cinema du look, it's kinda like the decade's nouvelle vague. "Youth versus the authority" is one of cinema du look's basic themes. Diva signaled the birth of this new era in French cinema.

Diva's hero is Jules (played by Frederic Andrei), a young man who suddenly finds himself in imbroglio. Jules doesn't look like the type of guy who'd get into any kind of trouble; he is polite and lanky. He also makes an honest living as a postman.

Cinematography: Days of Heaven

DAYS OF HEAVEN (1978)
Director: Terrence Malick
Cinematographer: Nestor Almendros

When one says "great cinematography," beautiful landscapes, tight close-ups, perfectly balanced colors, and Days of Heaven come to mind.

Days of Heaven, featuring a young Richard Gere, was directed by Terrence Malick. It's a love triangle set in early 20th century America.

The film is notable for its better-than-brilliant cinematography, which was mostly shot by Nestor Almendros. Days of Heaven is visual magnificence.

The film's iconic locust attack sequence.

Cinematography: The Seventh Seal

THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Cinematographer: Gunnar Fischer

Last June 11, acclaimed cinematographer Gunnar Fischer passed away. He was 100 years-old. Fischer is best known to film enthusiasts as the man who preceded Sven Nykvist as Ingmar Bergman's cinematographer. In fact his most notable works are the ones he did for Bergman: The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, etc.

The Seventh Seal is the most parodied among Bergman's films. It is set in 13th century Sweden, during the Black Plague. After a crusade, Antonius Block (Max von Sydow), along with his squire (Gunnar Bjornstrand), makes his way back home. Along comes Death (Bengt Ekerot). Antonius, not yet ready to leave this world, makes a deal with Death; if Antonius wins the game of chess, Death will leave him alone.

The Seventh Seal wouldn't be the same without Fischer's haunting cinematography.

Death vs. Antonius

A Superb Drink Up to the Last Sip

PEPPERMINT FRAPPE
Carlos Saura, 1967

Geraldine Chaplin radiates grace in almost every film she's in. That's why I forgive her for taking part in that junk called BloodRayne. I've always been entranced by Chaplin's screen presence. And after watching Cría cuervos, I was intrigued to see more of Carlos Saura's films. So I checked out Peppermint Frappe, his first of nine films with Chaplin.

Cinematography: The Spirit of the Beehive

THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973)
Director: Victor Erice
Cinematographer: Luis Cuadrado

Cuadrado was already going blind during The Spirit of the Beehive's production. Cuadrado, along with Nestor Almendros, is considered to be one of the greatest Spanish cinematographers who astounded audiences around the world with their breathtaking visions. Both Cuadrado and Almendros went blind later in their careers. Both also died under tragic circumstances; Almendros succumbed to AIDS, and Cuadrado committed suicide. But their works will continue to inspire audiences and filmmakers alike.

Cuadrado's work for The Spirit of the Beehive is one of his best. Victor Erice's film tells the story of a dreamy seven year-old girl who wanders into her own fantasy world after watching Frankenstein. I've always thought that The Spirit of the Beehive somehow inspired Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth.

The Spirit of the Beehive is one of the most astonishing films I've ever seen; thanks to Erice's flawless storytelling, Ana Torrent's raw but engaging performance, and Cuadrado's splendid photography.

Wow. Just wow.

Favorite Movie Moments: The Mirror Crack'd

Just like the other film adaptations of Agatha Christie's works, The Mirror Crack'd has a star-studded cast. This time it includes Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, Geraldine Chaplin, Edward Fox, and Angela Lansbury. A then-unknown Pierce Brosnan also makes an uncredited appearance. This 1980 crime/mystery/thriller was helmed by Guy Hamilton, a director best known for his James Bond films.

Despite being a murder mystery, the film is packed with hilarious one-liners like:

My (Criterion) Top 10 List

The Criterion Collection is a video distribution company that publishes "the greatest films from around the world." (In DVD and Blu-ray formats.)

In other words, if a film gets a "Criterion treatment" then it must be great. Every month, Criterion asks "a friend — a filmmaker, a programmer, a writer, an actor, an artist — to select their ten favorite movies available from the Criterion Collection and jot down their thoughts about them."

I love their Top 10 Lists, which include lists by Steve Buscemi, Jane Campion, James Franco, Guy Maddin, Paul Schrader, etc. Criterion doesn't even know I exist so I made my own Top 10 List. I wrote it in alphabetical order, so I wouldn't have to go insane thinking which film is my most favorite.

#1
CHARADE

Stanley Donen




From Maurice Binder's glorious title sequence (accompanied by Henry Mancini's gorgeous music) to the clever denouement; everything about Charade is pure entertainment. And then there's Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant, two of the classiest actors in the history of cinema. Hepburn's beauty is enchanting. Most critics call this film as "the best Hitchcock movie that Hitchcock never made."