Stoker
Great film, directed by Park Chan-wook, starring Eva Wasikowska, which seems to be dividing critics; Philip French in the Observer seemed to think it was just too much of everything, especially the Philip Glass score. It’s full of references, visual and verbal, to other films and it would be tedious to list the few that I got – so, here goes:
Psycho, throughout- Uncle Charlie’s appearance in distance on the hill, echoing the Psycho poster, the motel, the shower scene; Carrie – India’s white dress stained red by the light outside the diner where she talks to the biker; Edward Hopper, the same scene (not the biker, the diner-and I know, Hopper a painter, not a film); Marnie (maybe) – the red staining of the flowers recalling Tippi Hedren’s half-memory of the blood staining the back of Bruce Dern’s sailor’s suit…; Deliverance – the policeman speaking to India, recalling the sheriff’s conversation with Jon Voigt – “Oh, he’ll come in drunk probably…”.. A few fanciful ones – Deer Hunter? Grease? Stand by Me? I’m sure I’ve missed a bunch of teen vampire refs in there and I read that Shadow of a Doubt, another Hitchcock that I haven’t seen, has a murderous Uncle Charlie.
There are some visual moments that have to be mentioned; the spider disappearing up India’s skirt, Nicole Kidman’s hair turning to grass, the blood spattering the flowers – sorry, done that one already.
The Lair of the White Worm
A Bram Stoker book, appropriately; Ken Russell directed a 1988 “version” which was on TV last week and providentially, I happened on it whilst trawling the horror channels. It has to be seen to be believed, and even then.. Hugh Grant as Lord d’Ampton – the whole thing is inspired by the legend of the Lambton Worm – and Peter Capaldi as Angus the archaeologist, who digs up the snake’s skull and the Roman temple remains. The acting of the entire cast is reminiscent of the Five Go Wild series; you are contemplating switching channels, thinking how sad to see Ken in decline, when suddenly – a psychedelic interlude! Christ bleeding on the cross, entwined by a revolting giant white worm thing, surrounded by screaming, bloodstained nuns being raped and slaughtered by Roman soldiers, all in acid colours – and we’re back in Russell territory. In a later vision, the nuns are impaled on stakes, like victims of Vlad.
A later dream sequence has Amanda Donohoe wrestling with Catherine Oxenberg as a pair of sexy air “hostesses” on board a jet in which Hugh Grant sits tied up, playing with his pencil… And Capaldi, in kilt, charming the serpent by playing the tune of the Lambton Worm to it on the bagpipes and suddenly producing a hand grenade – where did he get that? Before leaving the film, I must mention that the virtually naked Donohoe drowns a harmonica playing boy scout in her bath. Actually, he’s finished playing – she does a little snake dancing to it and then snatches his harmonica away, irritably, before pushing him under the water with her foot.
For me, it’s up there with The Wicker Man (Roeg version, of course); what a double bill that would make. NB – correction! Wicker Man directed by Robin Hardy, NOT Nick Roeg. Sorry – mix-up, because Wicker Man was originally released in a double bill with Don’t Look Now – which was, of course, directed by Roeg.
BBC yourpaintings website
I’ve just been browsing this website and the following paintings caught my eye from the first 10 pages of the 99 devoted to Tate collections:
- A Man Who Suddenly Fell Over, Michael Andrews, 1952
- A Singer at the Bedford Music Hall, Spencer Gore, 1912 – is that the Bedford in Balham? Looks a bit Keith Vaughan…
- Abstract Painting, Vanessa Bell, 1914 – that pink and dark yellow very like a much later Ben Nicholson; love the roughness.
- A Tree Study, Robert Medley, 1959 – never heard of him.
- Abstract, Gillian Ayres.
Ayres
This website is the sort of place where you might end up browsing for hours, days, months…
Seaside
Blackpaint
07.03.13
Blackpaint's Blog 