Cinema Cycle - The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 09/01/2015

TITLE: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 13 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 18.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2511.1 miles

SYNOPSIS: Mysterious murders in a rural German town occur during the annual fair.  Townsfolk suspect one of the exhibitors at the fair that is displaying a “somnambulist”.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Possibly the very first use of surrealism in cinema.  Pushing the cinematic envelope before they even knew there was an envelope.

PROS AND CONS: As historical cinema it is pretty ground breaking and takes the concept of set design and storyline much farther that anything that had come before.  

That said, not the easiest film to follow.  It centers around the murders committed by a zombie like person played by Cesare the Somnambulist, who in turn is controlled by Dr Caligari, who is actually the figment of a mental patient at the local asylum.  

But the plot is somewhat overshadowed by the bizarre scenery and make up of the cast  What becomes evident once the viewer has the plot figured out is that the bizarre askew scenery represents the warped view of the world that the narrator has, who is in fact insane.  

This is one silent film that really benefits from the soundtrack inserted during the restoration process and the commentary by a film historian.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Chasing Ice

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/26/2015

TITLE: Chasing Ice

FORMAT: Streaming (Google Play)

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 15 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 18.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2493 miles

SYNOPSIS: A photographer for National Geographic tries document the shrinking of the world's glaciers

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: We can argue all we want, but there is something going on and it isn’t pretty.

PROS AND CONS: An exceptional documentary.  The cinematography, the music, editing are all well done and the commentary is pretty even keeled without to much preaching to one side or the other.  

In order to move the story along there is some drama added in regarding the photographer's ability to carry on with the project due to health reasons, but this is minor in the overall scope of the film.  

It becomes evident as the work progresses, that we are waiting for the big payoff at the end which shows the shrinkage of the glaciers in time lapse.  This is impressive, but not as overwhelming as you might think.  The most impressive sequence is near the end of the film where a section of a glacier as large as the island of Manhattan calves away from a glacier.  If I did not know better I would swear that it was a Hollywood special effect.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Beneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/242015

TITLE: Beneath the Valley of the Ultra Vixens

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 33 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2474.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young man and his girlfriend seek different innovative solutions to his sexual dysfunctionality.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Sexual relations usually have a down side and are not always positive.

PROS AND CONS: I can definitely see the progression in Meyer’s work over the course of the three films in this box set.  This final installment has more of what was in the first two, almost to the point of excess.

This is the more explicit of the three and probably also the most well written.  Unfortunately, this is the first film where Meyer made the jump to ‘augmented’ women in the lead roles and many of the actresses in the film border on buffoonish looking.  Since most of the sexual content is counterbalanced with sexual frustration and dysfunctionality, what is left is basically a comedy.

The comedy works because of Meyer’s slick editing and the narration and writing, much of which was done by Roger Ebert of ‘Siskel and Ebert’ fame.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Super Vixens

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/21/2015

TITLE: Super Vixens

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 47 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 23.9 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2451.9 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young moralistic drifter hitchhikes across a desolate landscape filled with wanton woman.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: A moral fantasy, if there is such a thing.  Sexuality is only one part of the equation.  Tight jeans will get you a long way.

PROS AND CONS: This is the second in a trilogy box set.  I have seen the whole box set before.  This time around, I am watching with the commentary of Russ Meyer himself which make the films almost more of a documentary.

The more I watch Meyer’s films, the more I pick up the themes that he continually comes back to.  Wanton and oversexed women is the obvious one, but the repressed male who lashes out in ultra-violence is also a common theme.  The octogenarian that is oblivious to all the sexual escapades that are going on around them is also omnipresent.  

More than anything else, the characters seemed to drift from scene to scene and encounter to encounter in an almost surreal state as though akin to a Greek tragedy complete with chorus.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Vixen!

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/19/2015

TITLE: Vixen!

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 13 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 17.2 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2428 miles

SYNOPSIS: A wanton young Canadian woman deals with her libido, racism, and infidelity in the outback of Alberta.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Erica Gavin works the eyebrows.  The pornography industry wouldn’t be anything today without Russ Meyer.  Like Irving Klaw, he struggled against the repressive puritanism of the late 1950s and won in the end.

PROS AND CONS: Meyer walks a fine line between grind-house cinema (violence) and exploitation (sex) cinema.  However, the man knew what he was doing.  With control over the script, cinematography, acting, casting, editing, etc, he made films that were his vision and no one else.  The fact that they were done on a shoestring budget does not affect the quality of the work.

Having seen this film several times before, I watched it this time with the audio commentary supplied by Meyer himself.  The commentary was more entertaining than the film, since Meyer often times wanders off onto topics that are fascinating but no related directly to the film.  It appears that the filming of his works during this period was akin to the real “Boogie Nights”, where the casting couch was in full swing and the film crew regularly slept in different tents each night.  

While there is sex and skin aplenty in this film, Meyer is trying to get something across.  Being an asshole (in this case a very condescending and arrogant woman) is not a likable person to be.  Racism, infidelity and lesbianism are also touched on.  These were subjects that mainstream studios would not even considering touching at the time and the studios regularly tried to shut Meyer down because of the way he pushed the envelope.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Christianity Volume 2

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/16/2015

TITLE: Christianity - Volume 2

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 45 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 12.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2410.8 miles

SYNOPSIS: The second 1,000 years of the Christian faith are explored, from 1000AD through the 1500s.  

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: There is little difference between religion and politics.  Nothing has really changed in the course of human behavior over the centuries.

PROS AND CONS: A very good documentary series.  Since there are no photographs or archival footage of the Spanish Inquisition and the Protestant Reformation, most of this series is voice over while looking at paintings, tapestries and illustrations from the time in question.  

While that may seem rather boring, the narrative of how the Christian church bobbed and weaved through time to take into account the changing morals and perception of authority and religion is very interesting.  

Since most of us are indoctrinated into a religion based on our family or friends, it is important that anyone considering the worship of a particular faith needs to watch a series such as this.  My belief is that many people who consider themselves ‘religious’ don’t really understand how the religion that they profess to believe in really came about and what its root are.  

If I was a young child and showed this documentary, I would have probably have forgone religion all together, since it paints a picture of a very corrupt and self serving institution.

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Victory At Sea, Vols: 1, 2 & 3

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 08/14/2015

TITLE: Victory At Sea (Vols: 1, 2, & 3)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 21 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 18.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 2398.5 miles

SYNOPSIS: (from Wikipedia)

1.	October 26, 1952	"Design for War"	Battle of the Atlantic, 1939–1941	World War II begins and the Germans succeed in invading Poland and France. But German forces are restrained by the British thanks to the vital convoys, Canadian and American naval forces' initial involvement and the Lend-Lease program. Still, the German submarine war increases its crescendo thanks to new French bases.
2.	November 2, 1952	"The Pacific Boils Over"	Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941	Using Japanese footage, viewers see the planning, execution and, ultimately, the celebration of the country's attack on Pearl Harbor. There also is an explanation provided for the attack and some peaceful moments depicted among the U.S. sailors before the fateful events unfold. Though damaged, the U.S. Navy survives to fight again. (This episode was re-broadcast on 7 December 1952—the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack.)
3.	November 9, 1952	"Sealing the Breach"	Anti-submarine warfare, 1941–1943	With war now declared by the U.S., naval forces throughout the states have joined to bring convoys of supplies across the Atlantic Ocean to the Allies in England. German U-Boats come through and manage to destroy some of ships along the way. Still, the Americans are resilient.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: History as told by the victors.  Impressive archival footage, wonderful narration and writing, exceptional score.

PROS AND CONS: This is the art of the documentary before Ken Burns and PBS came along.  This is 12 hour+ long film about naval seapower and the United States use of it during WWII.  More a recruiting poster for the American Navy and the American way of life.  Which translates to “We are good and resolute and the rest of the world is weak and evil”.

While the footage is mostly Naval Signal Corp footage along with footage obtained from other governments after the way, what stands out is the narration and the musical score.

The work was commissioned by NBC television who had their own orchestra the time.  Richard Rogers wrote the extensive suite of music that is interlaced throughout all 20+ episodes.  The narration by Leonard Graves is compelling and grandiose.  It is also very arrogant and condescending toward the defeated foe, as though God himself had laid waste to the enemy using the United State as his sword.  

The rule of history has always been that the victors get to write the history books.  

To read an overview of this project, check out this status posting.  

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.