segunda-feira, 21 de dezembro de 2020

The Thing From Another World versus The Thing: How Classical Hollywood Filmmaking Produced Meaning and Message in a Horror Landmark


The Thing From Another World versus The Thing: 
How Classical Hollywood Filmmaking Produced 
Meaning and Message in a Horror Landmark 

By Joaquim Ghirotti


One of the most important classics of science fiction cinema is Howard Hawks’s only science fiction film, The Thing from Another World. Originally it was regarded as being directed by an editor frequently used by Hawks, Christian Nyby. However it is frequently argued that Hawks worked on this as much more than a producer. It is also not generally appreciated that Hawks worked on the screenplay, together with the prolific writer Ben Hech, who was responsible for several famous films such as The Man With the Golden Arm (1955) and Spellbound (1945). He had worked with Hawks before in His Girl Friday (1940) and was a writer very comfortable with the traditional Hollywood narrative form.  At the time, Hawks developed an interest in the pulp science fiction magazines which were published around the time of World War II, and decided to buy the rights to the story "Who Goes There?" for his film company, Winchester Pictures Corporation.




Howard Hawks

The film was remade in 1982 by horror maestro John Carpenter. Carpenter's adaptation, however, is quite different from the original 1950s horror/sci fi classic. Hawks' version was made just after the catastrophe of World War II, and it attempted to project, through trustuworthy, determined and stable characters, a safer, more controllable world to its audience, an audience perhaps already tired from the destruction and uncertainty of the war. The film, although having scenes which were tense and terrifying for its time, gleamed with hope and a positive perspective before conflicts and evil. 

Carpenter, benefitting from freedom which allowed him to use extreme, gory violence and to create a dense atmosphere of nihilism, used the framework, some of the plot-points and the general premise of the original film to produce a dark, menacing and claustrophobic horror narrative, which projects very different ideas from the idealistic heroism and the hopeful certainties of the first film. 

The Thing, released in 1951, follows classical thriller/horror and clearly science fiction standards and is a fine example of Hawksian cinema. The narrative is explored in a very expositional way through the main character, Captain Patrick Hendry, played with fluent masculine elegance by actor Kenneth Tobey. His figure is a flawless Hawksian hero, determined, not subject to emotional influences – a stereotypical male role model when facing problems. He begins the movie playing a game of cards, and when he wins over a colleague, another man on the table sets the character: “You should know better than to try to fool our captain, only dames can do that!” Later indeed we will learn that his weakness is for the ladies.

Kenneth Tobey, as Captain Hendry.

In the first five minutes we are introduced to the situation: Captain Hendry is called to supervise the discovery of Dr. Arthur Carrington: a spaceship buried in ice has been found and demands immediate military attention. Soon, we have a man with a mission, a recognizable goal and a mysterious object at stake - a question mark, that can change the destiny of men perhaps? 

Sam Peckinpah 2

 Segundo vídeo discorrendo sobre Sam Peckinpah.



quinta-feira, 6 de novembro de 2014

Sam Peckinpah




Recentemente o cineasta Sam Peckinpah teve sua primeira retrospectiva completa no Brasil. Esse cineasta Californiano que foi muito ativo no cinema dos anos 60 e 70 é pouco celebrado, em relação a seus contemporâneos. Porém sem ele cineastas como John Woo e Quentin Tarantino teriam menos de onde se inspirar, e até mesmo contemporâneos a ele como Scorsese e De Palma usaram de suas técnicas e narrativa. Neste primeiro de dois vídeos, exploramos alguns aspectos e características do chamado "poeta da violência".

quarta-feira, 24 de setembro de 2014

Sepultura and the borders between thrash, death and black metal.

Sepultura. One of the most important metal bands ever. One that took part on the development of thrash, black and death metal, and built up the history of these genres. Songs like "Troops of Doom" and "Antichrist" are early classics, "Beneath the Remains" and "Arise" marked the death metal Flórida sound, and Chaos A.D. and Roots changed the face of 90s heavy music.

On this video, we try to understand the band's history, observing how they influenced the heavy metal landscape and the genres of extreme metal that followed them. On the second section we move on to discuss the new album, "the mediator between head and hands must be the heart", a comeback t Sepultura's origins in some ways. However, comeback to earlier creations is done with the maturity and technique of today, with an appreciation of the whole of the band's trajectory.


PART I



PART II



terça-feira, 23 de setembro de 2014

The state of modern (retro) metal and the rise of hipster metal


A hipster/deathcore kid with a horrendous haircut, horrible “earrings” that should be caught with a fishing rod and pulled as hard as possible, dressed up with a... Mayhem shirt. Positioning himself ironically and eclectically before the most "evil" metal genre there is, black metal. Post-modernist pop culture reaches a climax.

Fenriz must feel sardonic wrath at this, the result of his life's work!
 
Well boys and girls! When things get to the point that Thurston Moore is playing in a black metal band (something which he wouldn't do at gun point in 1992), when we get to the point he is even interested in that, it means that this day has arrived.

The day arrived a few years ago, and this can't be denied any longer
. Extreme metal is being not only accepted, but also admired - and produced - by hipsters. The body of work of the hipster influence (or infection, depending where you stand) has been gradually growing. It must be acknowledged!


Its seemed unlikely that extreme metal would turn into something hip, trendy, stylish and cult. Synonymous with intellectual artistic pursuits, accepted by the ones who are hip, stylish and cool, respected by the ones who are hip, trendy stylish and cool. All of this done with a dark and menacing veneer. But it doesn't matter how baffled one can be; it has happened. The blasé and pretentious artistic image of Velvet Underground finally crossed over with satanic rock music. 

In an attempt to understand this phenomenon, I wrote this book on the subject. The question is: if hipsters are using metal music to produce their art, what is the result? Can we trace a history of it at this stage? Is there any real content to it? Is it good? Is it bad? What is it? What is happening, and why is it happening?

It is time to analyze the data. 


The text is long. But so what? Are you busy ? No, you're on the Internet, and no one who is on the internet is busy. So let's just discuss this.

Click below to expand.

quinta-feira, 6 de março de 2014

Carcass - Surgical Steel Review - English



After 17 years Carcass released a new album. Adding up elements from all moments of their career, the bands attempts to top their 1993 album Heartwork. Have they succeeded? Watch our review!





sexta-feira, 7 de fevereiro de 2014

Carcass - Surgical Steel




Após 17 anos de inatividade no estúdio os fundadores do Grindcore e do Death Metal Carcass voltam com um novo álbum. Nestes dois vídeos procuramos entender o papel do Carcass na história do Death Metal, e depois mergulhamos na resenha do disco em si.



Mama - Del Toro e Muschietti

Mama de Andres Muschietti surge como filme de horror sobrenatural, inspirado no momento do cinema Japonês que aborda o tema de fantasmas e a repetição de acontecimentos obscuro do passado dos personagens como fonte de conflito. O filme, produzido pelo célebre Guilherme Del Toro (diretor de "O Labirinto do Pan" e "Hellboy", entre outros) é produtor do filme, e sua marca autoral fica clara na obra. Vamos ver como isso se da.




Guillermo del Toro é um diretor muito comentado tanto pela sua competência quanto pelo seu apego e esmero no acabamento estético/visual. Apesar de Mama ser dirigido por Andres Muschietti, del Toro foi o produtor e as marcas disso estão visíveis por toda produção. O professor de roteiro Joaquim Ghirotti parte desde filme para comentar a carreira deste produtor/diretor que claramente almeja deixar sua marca na história do cinema de horror.



Sepultura - The mediator between head and hand must be the heart

O Sepultura é uma das bandas mais importantes do mundo no cenário do black/thrash/death metal e fez história no gênero. Músicas como "troops of doom" são clássicos e discos como "Roots" são pontos de virada importantísssimos para toda a música pesada.

Neste vídeo, Joaquim Ghirotti comenta sobre a carreira do Sepultura, sobre a influência da banda em diversos estilos musicais, ate o mais novo album, "the mediator between head and hands must be the heart", que é uma volta aos anos 80 sem esquecer de toda trilha que a banda passou.

PARTE 1





PARTE 2

terça-feira, 13 de agosto de 2013

Outland e o Fim da violência política em Hollywood - Spoiler-o-rama


Outland e o Fim da violência política em Hollywood - Spoiler-o-rama

Outland (1981) é um filme de Sci-Fi de Peter Hyams, estrelado por Sean Connery. Num futuro distante e indeterminado um xerife locado na lua Io, de Júpiter, enfrenta uma conspiração envolvendo dinheiro e drogas.

Apesar do Sci Fi ser muito renegado e encarado como um cinema de segunda linha, quando analisamos os contextos históricos e sócio-econômicos podemos tirar conclusões muito mais interessantes e profundas. Podemos dizer que este filme é um dos últimos suspiros do cinema violento e político da década de 70.

Joaquim Ghirotti, professor de Roteiro em cursos de graduação e pós graduação, discorre sobre o assunto e nos mostra que não existe grande distância entre o cenário social de Io futurista em Outland e do planeta terra na atualidade.
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Este vídeo artigo apresenta o contexto histórico-cultural da criação do filme Outland, dirigido por Peter Hyams, em 1981. São feitas ligações entre o surgimento da Nova Hollywood e o filme, além de se apresentar o cenário de sci-fi do final dos anos 70 nos quadrinhos adultos. Considerações sobre o surgimento das publicações Heavy Metal/Metal Hurlant e o papel de Moebius, Giger na estética e na linguagem do cinema.




 



 É discutida a apropriação da estrutura de MATAR OU MORRER de Zimmerman dentro do gênero do suspense espacial. Outlando readapta a critica da trama contra grandes corporações e a exploração capitalista desenfreada, para o contexto da sci fi. (podemos estabelecer um paralelo com a Chinesa Foxconn hoje em dia) enquanto Matar ou Morrer é um drama pessoal sobre a falta de empatia e o dilema ético de um homem que fica sozinho por principios. Os paralelos são então com o McCarthismo cinquentista.