I regret to say that I can find no way here to italicize the pi-sign (∏). Apologies. With its pretentious air, overwrought images, choppiness and tedious story, ∏ (Pi) is a terrible film. For all its blatantly contrived agitation, ∏ might be subtitled Hand-Held Camera Runs Amok; this refugee from TV’s Twilight Zone, this Tale […]
Daily Archives: July 7, 2008
Shogun-era Japan, 1865: As the samurai tradition wanes, teenaged Sozaburo Kano already has proven himself in battle. At a compound in Kyoto he is being trained in swordfighting. When the camera takes its first good look at him, one is taken aback. Isn’t that a girl? No; but with his seductive “long locks” Kano is […]
Under “film reviews,” please see my essay headed VISIONS OF LIGHT (Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Stuart Samuels, 1993), where Steve James’s Hoop Dreams is extensively discussed.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s first feature, (Liebe ist) kälter als der Tod, based on his own play, coolly busts apart the seams of the generic label “gangster film.” One notes the absence of blood despite many killings. In thirties Hollywood films this absence indicated a degree of social responsibility and restraint. With Fassbinder, however, it is […]
