Things have been a little quiet here at Mid Century Cinema. It had been our hope, for example, to have already posted on the most excellent new Scorsese doc, and to recognize the fiftieth anniversary of The Lost Honor of Katarina Blum. And with luck we will still get to those, though various obstacles, including a rather overwhelming teaching semester, have been impeding our progress. (Yes, I know, feel free to respond like Warren Beatty in The Parallax View, “You wanna hear about my day?”)
Nevertheless, since we depend on the subscription fees of our loyal followers to cover MCC’s daunting operating costs, I thought I’d touch base with a few updates, as much has been going on—just mostly off-site. A few announcements, then, to share:
We’re thrilled to have the chapter, “License Revoked? Orson Welles’s Studio Films of the Mid-Forties,” in the brand new Oxford Handbook of American Film History. Take our advice. Never. Enough. Welles. One of the giants of the twentieth century. I may name a child after him.
Our engagement with modern Iranian cinema is drifting towards an obsession. And not just because radical theocratic authoritarianism seems to be heading our way—the movies are also spectacular. Earlier this year, for the Boston Review, we had the opportunity to interview Mohammad Rasoulof about this film, The Seed of the Sacred Fig. And, currently not linked on the site (stay tuned, they will eventually be added to the Books, Essays and More page), we recently reviewed the Criterion Collection’s Special Edition of The Wind Will Carry Us (“an as-the-millennium-approaches summary statement by grandmaster Abbas Kiarostami of his thirty year filmmaking career in Iran”), and Jafar Panahi’s stunning, still in theaters, It Was Just An Accident, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. (It “may be his finest film to date—although this suggestion will surely invite vigorous contestation among his devotees, who will rise in defense of any number of personal favorites.”)
Speaking of thrilled, our big Night Moves feature is now posted, which includes insights from interviews with Arthur Penn, Jennifer Warren, Susan Clark, and Harris Yulin. Read the essay, watch the movie – one of our all-time favorites – and then walk around looking for opportunities do say things like “Me and my parents…we had a different arrangement” and “I know what you didn’t mean.”
Confidentially (admittedly, I use that word loosely), we’re also cooking a new seventies film edited volume, the full MS of which is now with the press. Watch this space for updates about that one, which we will tease as having an all-star roster of contributors, but which we will not jinx by discussing further at this juncture.
And, finally, That ‘70s Film Podcast is really humming along – recent episodes include discussions of The Friends of Eddie Coyle (spoiler alert: they’re not really his friends), The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor, Network, and All that Jazz. As Jackie Gleason would say—that’s good booze! Do check them out (people really seem to be enjoying them), and drop us a note, or a comment, or a complaint—either through the comments section on the podcast sites (Apple seems to have one, not sure about Spotify), or through the MCC “contact us” page. Any and all feedback is most welcome—and we’re especially eager to take requests.
Anyway, that’s all for now. We do hope to be with you a bit more frequently, but if not, we will surely resurface with our annual, always popular “best home video of the year” list.