CURATOR TO CURATOR: JACK STEVENSON’S “BENEATH CONTEMPT…”
Jack has been a tremendous inspiration for itinerant programmers, establishing a “circuit” of offbeat venues in Europe for screening underground films. (Before YouTube, you actually had to go to Munich to show films to Germans)…
Posted on January 9, 2012 by Noel Lawrence
WHAT IS UNDERGROUND FILM? A DIALOGUE WITH LAWRENCE AND ROBERTS
Recently, Slamdance asked Burke Roberts and myself to recommend underground films for the Anarchy Shorts and Special Screening sections of the Festival. We are psyched. At the same time, we are pensive…
Posted on October 19, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
CURATOR TO CURATOR: STEPHEN PARR’S “ODDBALL FILMS”
Stephen Parr’s Oddball Film Archives is just that. Located in the Mission District of San Francisco, his loft contains over 50,000 films…
Posted on September 22, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
IN MEMORIAM: GEORGE KUCHAR (1942-2011)
For me, that spirit of unbound artistic independence is the legacy of George Kuchar…
Posted on September 10, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
CURATOR TO CURATOR: FRÉDÉRIC TEMPS ON “L’ÉTRANGE FESTIVAL”
This week, I will check in with cinephile-musician-journalist Frédéric Temps…
Posted on August 29, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
CURATOR TO CURATOR: DIMITRI SIMAKIS ON “EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE”
My series “Curator To Curator” will be a chance to talk shop with other film and video programmers who specialize in offbeat audiovisual work. The first installment is a chat with Dimitri Simakis about his wildly popular blog/festival/movement “Everything Is Terrible!”
Posted on August 8, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
“MOUNTAIN MEN ON THE MAKE”: A CHAT WITH BURKE ROBERTS
As a film critic and journalist, I often catch some cinematic diamonds in the rough before the public sees them. Last week, I got a sneak peek at the latest from underground film messiah Burke Roberts…
Posted on July 25, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION: NXNE & BLUE SUNSHINE
Celebrating its tenth year, NXNE’s film section offered a tasty selection of music docs and other bits, curated by fest programmer Ambrose Roche…
Posted on July 4, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
SPINDRIFT: CLASSIC SOUNDTRACKS VOL. 1
Living up to everything that the concept of neo-psychedelica promises, Spindrift composes fictional soundtracks in search of imaginary films. Think Peckinpah. Think Morricone. Add a dash of Corman and you get Spindrift…
Posted on May 30, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
TO HELLMAN AND BACK ON THE “ROAD TO NOWHERE”
Monte Hellman hardly merits an introduction. My words cannot do him justice. No aspiring director should be allowed to pick up a movie camera without seeing “Two-Lane Blacktop”…
Posted on May 16, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
“SCRAPPER”: A CHAT WITH FILMMAKER STEPHAN WASSMANN
I found Wassmann to be an interesting cat. Here was a guy fluent in Noam Chomsky who also could slam Budweisers with the toughest hombres in the military. He had the two qualities I appreciate in my associates: guts and brains…
Posted on May 9, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
EULOGIZING LUMET: PRINCE OF THE CITY
|
  Year Released: 1981 MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 167 minutes |
When eulogizing the career of this monumental auteur, one has difficulty identifying an iconic scene that encapsulates Lumet’s approach to filmmaking…
Posted on April 11, 2011 by Noel Lawrence
THE BALLAD OF GENESIS AND LADY JAYE
|
  Year Released: 2011 MPAA Rating: Unrated Running Time: 72 minutes |
As a founding member of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV, Genesis P-Orridge’s influence upon industrial culture and music is beyond dispute…
Posted on April 2, 2011 by Noel Lawrence