On the Road Again with Wim Wenders

Throughout cinema history there have been certain directors who are mostly identified by the types of films they make. John Ford with westerns, Alfred Hitchcock with thrillers, and Martin Scorsese with gangster films, just to name a few. But director Wim Wenders has went through his career making several films that fall into that category of road movies. A genre usually associated with American films, German auteur Wim Wenders has brought an entirely new perspective to the road movie. Most specifically, his unofficial road movie trilogy: Alice in the Cities, Kings of the Road, and The Wrong Move.

 The first film in the trilogy is Alice in the Cities (1974). The film centers around a German journalist named Philip Winter played by Rudiger Vogler driving through America trying to get material for an article about America. When he runs out of money and ideas, he heads back to Germany. At the airport, Philip runs into a German mother and daughter named Lisa and Alice, played by Lisa Kreuzer and Yella Rottlander respectively, who are trying to get back home but can't speak very good English. Philip helps them get a ticket but the plane doesn't leave until the next day.
Philip sticks around with Alice and her mother as they wait for the next day. The next morning Alice's mother is gone and it is up to Philip to get Alice home. This is done in a very disastrous way since the two have no idea where they're going, but they still try hard to get there.
The interesting thing about this film is that it is sort of an anti-Lolita. There is no strange sexual attraction between Philip and the young Alice. The two are merely portrayed as new friends just trying to get back home. There also seems to be no age gap between their friendship, since Philip treats Alice like an equal instead of a kid. The film itself is a very beautiful one and an excellent example of the brilliance of Wender's craft.
This film is available to watch on the Criterion's HuluPlus channel, which could mean that there might be a Criterion release on DVD/blu-ray in the near future. It is definitely a must see for anyone who appreciates the films of Wim Wenders and road movies in general.

The second film in the trilogy is Kings of the Road (1976). This film follows a traveling projection equipment mechanic played by Rudiger Vogler and a depressed man who's marriage has just broken up played by Hanns Zischler. The two men meet and decide to travel together. The whole film follows these two as they travel through Western Germany along the East German border repairing projection equipment in run down movie theaters.
Throughout their travels they encounter several characters that enlighten them. This is a beautifully filmed movie that really captures the landscapes wonderfully that these two go through. The film is also great because there are no homoerotic undertones here. These are just two guys driving. They barely talk or interact, except when they listen to music. They are essentially two guys with nothing, trying to find something. They have lost their way and they are trying to find it again.
This is a theme that Wenders explores often in his films, a desperate need to get back to the place where you are from. This is displayed twice in this film, when Hanns Zischler goes to see his father and confronts him and when both Vogler and Zischler go to the place where Vogler grew up.
This is one of those movies that really speaks to an audience and is able to do it in very few words. There is no American DVD release for this movie, but I was able to view this film on YouTube in 18 parts. A truly amazing film that is masterfully done by Wim Wenders.

The third film in Wenders trilogy is called The Wrong Move (1975). This is one film that I cannot find. There  isn't a proper American release for this film on DVD. You can purchase a VHS copy for $7.00 on amazon.com. It is not on YouTube either. The film stars Rudiger Vogler, Fassbinder regular Hanna Schygulla, and Nastassja Kinski, who is the daughter of legendary actor Klaus Kinski. I did however view the first two minutes of this film on Bing videos and this is the only film of the trilogy that is in color.
With all this though, here's hoping that these three essential films will get a proper DVD/blu-ray release sometime soon. Most preferably in a trilogy box set, released by the Criterion. But since Alice in the Cities is the only one on their Hulu channel, the other two are simply wishful thinking. If these do make it to the Criterion they will join two other Wenders films: Paris, Texas and Wings of Desire.
These are definitely three films that need a proper release and that don't need to be forgotten. To watch a Wim Wenders films is like watching poetry on the screen. Landscapes and people intertwined together to form a beautiful view of the things we take for granted.

Johnny Guitar

One film that I have heard great things about from many different sources is Nicholas Ray's western Johnny Guitar (1954). The film itself has mostly been praised after its initial release. The film centers around a saloon owner named Vienna played by Joan Crawford. As she runs her saloon she is met with much animosity by the locals of the mining town.
The leader and initiator of this animosity is a woman named Emma Small played by Mercedes McCambridge. Emma is jealous of Vienna, especially for the Dancin' Kid played by Scott Brady who has a romantic attachment to Vienna. Emma succeeds in turning the town against Vienna as certain events unfold that can easily be traced to the Dancin' Kid and Vienna.
Things get even more complicated when an ex-lover of Vienna's, Johnny Guitar played by Sterling Hayden, strolls into the town by Vienna's request. As their feelings for each other turn up again, the complications get evenh thicker. All this erupting into a sizzling climax that leaves the audience on the edge of their seat.
This is melodrama at its finest. Nicholas Ray displays top directing form as he vividly portrays the scenary in a sharp color that makes the images nearly jump off the screen. Emotions in this film are more dangerous than the gunshots fired in the movie. Definitely a rare kind of western that almost really isn't even a western, it's more than that. The film is also an important part of Joan Crawford's career.
With all that being said, the availbilty of this film almost makes one weep. On amazon.com you can purchase this film, which is an import from Korea for $16.75. I myself saw this movie on YouTube in its entirety, but the video has since been removed since I've watched it.
But there lies that infinite question. Why should this great film suffer such a fate? Why is this film reduced to a Korean import with subtitles? Why have we abandoned this great film? I don't know the answer but swift action in getting this film a proper DVD/blu-ray release is a necessity. It seems almost unfair to lay everything on the Criterion Collection but since they are really the only ones doing anyhthing about these plights it seems hard not to mention them.
A Criterion release would be awesome for this movie but then again any release would. If the Criterion decides to release this film it will join another Nicholas Ray film on the Criterion: Bigger Than Life. This is another film that does not need to be forgotten and preserving this film is definitely a top priority.
This is a film about passion, jealousy, hatred, and greed and it is masterfully done by the great Nicholas Ray and wonderfully acted by Joan Crawford, Sterling Hayden, and Mercedes McCambridge.

The Mother and the Whore

The second film I have discovered in my journey to find lost films is the Jean Eustache film The Mother and the Whore from 1973. This film is an epic from the French New Wave, even if it was made in '73. It is definitely a product of that era. It is also the ultimate talking film. With a running time of three and a half hours the only action in the film is people talking and people having sex.
The film follows three main people: Alexandre (played by Jean Pierre Leaud, who himself is a familiar in the French New Wave, most notably his debut role in Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows, the film that started the French New Wave), Marie (played by Bernadette Lafont), and Veronika (played by Francoise Lebrun).
The film follows these three characters as they go through their day to day life of promiscurity and philosphy. Alexandre is in love and lives with Marie but still has relationships on the side. When he falls for Veronika, who is a nurse, things get even more complicated as those feelings grow even stronger and his dedication and love for Marie never wanes. Marie loves Alexandre and seems unaffected by his love affairs as she has a couple herself and Veronika doesn't really care about Alexandre's relationship with Marie, all she knows is that she loves him.
This a very powerful and sexual film.We see the activites of these individuals and we immediately embrace them as the characters do. As the film progresses, the intensity that the characters bring to their situation is so compelling that even though it is already three and a half hours long you wish it was longer.
The film is a lot like life. There is no real solution, these characters just take it day by day. Alexandre never decides between Marie or Veronkia, he just simply goes back and forth between the two, constantly toying with their emotions. And Marie and Veronika never force him to choose, Veronika just simply refers to him as the luckiest man in the world to have two women that love him.
With all that being said this is definitely a film that needs to be seen. It does not need to be forgotten. Whereas its rival, Last Tango in Paris (also starring Leaud) has already made it to blu-ray, where The Mother and the Whore is only availble on VHS. On amazon.com, a brand new VHS costs $65.00 and a used one costs $33.99. Too high for a dead technology.
In comparison, The Mother and the Whore is a far better film than Last Tango in Paris, not to dismiss the greatness of Paris, but The Mother and the Whore is a lot more emotionally deeper and offers a better insight into the sexual feelings and urges of the human being. But why has Last Tango had a good release while The Mother and the Whore has suffered this neglect? I don't have a clear answer for that but I know a solution.
I was able to find the film in its entirety on YouTube in twenty-one parts and I'm glad I found it, but this film is in desperate need of a proper DVD/blu-ray release. It would be amazing if the Criterion Collection could work their magic and put this film out, but there is not even a hint that that's going to happen. But if not the Criterion, than any distributor will do, just as long as it gets the proper release it deserves after all these years.
This film is a masterpiece from Jean Eustache and it perfectly captures the era in which it was made and the sensibilities that surrounded that era.

Breaking the Waves

The first film I have discovered on my journey to find those forgotten films of yesteryear is the Lars von Trier classic Breaking the Waves from 1996. The film stars Emily Watson as a mentally unstable woman named Bess who gets married to a roughneck named Jan, played by Stellan Skarsgard. When Jan is injured in an accident on an oil rig he is left paralyzed. He then tells Bess to seek out men and make love to them so she can recount the experience to him so he won't forget how to make love and thus keep him alive with love. Bess gradually does this and in a series of tragic attempts, she ends up sacrificing herself for the sake of Jan. Katrin Cartlidge gives a great supporting performance as Bess's friend and sister-in-law and Udo Kier has a small role as a sadistic sailor.
This is an exceptional film from the controversial Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier. It is erotic, gut wrenching, and very well directed with a sense of realism that makes it feel like you are there with these characters going through the experiences they are. Emily Watson gives the performance of her career as she portrays one of the most complex and loveable characters in film. Her main motive is to do anything for Jan, she wants and needs Jan, because she loves only him.
With all this finding this film is damn near impossible. I was lucky enough to find this film on YouTube with French subtitles. As far as the DVD availbility goes, a brand new one amazon.com runs nearly one hundred dollars, where a used one runs at least thirty dollars for the bare bones Artisan release.
There are rumours that the Criterion Collection might release this film as their 2012 slate but no official word has been heard. That is purely speculation and on my part immense hope, since this amazing film desperately needs the Criterion treatment. It was released as a laserdisc for the Criterion, so here's hoping it gets the blu-ray/DVD treatment. If so it will join other von Trier films: The Element of Crime, Europa, and AntiChrist on Criterion.
This is one film, that does not need to be forgotten. It is an uncompromising look at love and dedication that puts most films to shame.

A first time blogger.

I'm not really familiar with this process but I want to start this thing to try and get more familiar with the film community. My ever growing obsession for film has lead me to the obscure and hard to find films and I want to dedicate this blog to those films and the other under appreciated films that end up in copyright Hell or are lost to the perils of the forgotten abyss that is cinema. But I want to bring new life to these films by bringing them into the light again and urging the wonderful distrubters of film like Criterion, Kino. Anchor Bay, and Blue Underground to name a few, to release these films so they can be enjoyed again. And also I want to express how important film preservation is. Just like a painting, movies need to be preserved to show the hard work of the people who dedicated their lives to making films.