No, I’m not talking about his drunken rants against Jews but the dark side of his more recent films. Has any one noticed that you have to have a fairly strong stomach to watch the films directed by Mel Gibson? Of course you have. You have to wade through a lot of gore.

It obviously started with Braveheart which is Hollywood through and through. But the violence was quite strong for its time of release. The graphic slitting of throats was a hark back to Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch. And I feel sure that the final hanging, drawing and quartering scenes might have been even more graphic had it not been for trepidations about censorship. We hadn’t seen anything like this before in such detail and it gave us a feeling of revulsion. But he got away with it and precedents were set. One could argue that the scenes were justified in terms of the film narrative. Wallace had to have a strong motivation to hate the English. What better than to show us (not him, by the way, in the film) the graphic death of his wife at the hands of an English Lord. And the final execution scenes were pure Hollywood to show his lasting legacy to Scotland in the form of continuing rebellion.

Next, The Passion of the Christ, gave us Gibson’s account of the final days of Christ up to an including his crucifixion. He stated that the film was about “faith, hope, love and forgiveness”. I am sorry but the abiding memory I will have of the film is of brutality, graphic scenes of violence and revulsion again. His messages were lost in a sea of gore. The film was unbalanced by the long scenes of torture and violence of the flesh. You could almost put the film into the new Gorno category. There seems to be a delight in the violence.

I have not seen Apocalypto yet but I understand from people who have seen it and from reviews that it is no exception to the Gibson “buckets of gore” mantra. It is stunningly beautiful to look at (the cinematography looks exquisite) and perhaps it is a more fitting historical vehicle for him to explore the darker side of human nature and society’s evils. Human sacrifice in the Mayan civilisation is a central issue here in the narrative and as such gives him licence to explore the issue in detail.

Nevertheless, Gibson makes us (un)willing accomplices or voyeurs in these films. You cannot take your eyes off the screen. Is it real violence? Of course not. But how do they achieve that effect? Is it heightened realism? Over the top for the sake of dramatic effect. Probably. Is it meant to offend and cause revulsion? Again probably. Debate and controversy in the media before opening night always guarantees a decent box office with people wanting to make up their own minds. Does it cater to our baser instincts? Has he tapped into an older human consciousness that is in everyone but is rarely awakened? Don’t know is my answer at the moment. Now I am no prude when it comes to watching violence on screen but Mel Gibson’s violence makes me feel revulsion, titillation and guilt in equal measure. The titillation is that I cannot take my eyes off the screen and the guilt is that I cannot defend not taking my eyes off the screen.

His films are never less than interesting but if his films reflect his thoughts, feelings and predispositions then Mel Gibson has already gone to the dark side.

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I’m on a roll now. The Song Remains The Same just started me thinking again about pop music films again. It’s funny how one thing leads to another. I’d almost forgotten about probably the greatest film about popular music and culture. And it was made by a bone fide film maker with a host of cinematic as well as musical talent.

The Last Waltz is a film documentary by Martin Scorcese based around the final(?) gig of The Band, that legendary but cultish rock band, that became famous through being Bob Dylan’s backing band for a while. The film came out only two years later than The Song Remains The Same yet as films they are poles apart.

The Band were more legends in the American music industry rather than world wide famous rock stars. Their pedigree was impeccable, they were killer live performers and they commanded respect amongst their peers. Their friends numbered among the royalty of the 1970s American music scene. Individually, they were not household names like Led Zeppelin or The Who. But together they created a small phenomonen.

Martin Scorcese obviously was a fan and he conducts several interviews personally with The Band about their career. But the main event is the concert footage with guest appearances by Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Dr John and countless others. Not only is the sound reproduction high quality as is the camerwork and lighting but there is a great feeling of celebration in the performances. Judicial use of editing makes the action always interesting. Scorcese displays the concert footage in its best light and highlights the variety of musical styles on display with The Band accompanying the musical guests on many of the songs. It’s almost like you’re there. There are no great stylistic cinematic tricks to distract you from the performances.

The film is worth watching as a historical document and shows a slice of the 1970s American music scene with many of its movers and shakers but for me it’s all about the music. No pyrotechnics, no real myth making agenda just a record of high quality music for the sake of it. Beautiful.

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I thought I just had to write this piece after having watched The Song Remains The Same on television last night. You probably realise by now that one of my areas of interest is films or movies about popular music and culture. When I saw that this was on the TV last night the closet Led Zeppelin fan in me came to life briefly. I had never seen the film before (strangely) and had almost forgotten about its existence. So I watched it with some anticipation. With all the hoohaa about Led Zeppelin’s reunion gig around Christmas I wasn’t surprised that this surfaced.

In summary The Song Remains The Same documents the Led Zeppelin gig at Madison Square in New York and was released in 1976 when the group were at their zenith. It is interspersed with various dream-like sequences I assume were meant to be representations of the personality of the members of the band. There are also gritty sequences of the hard-nosed manager and his cronies taking the stadium management to task with copious amounts of adult language. As the film was financed entirely by the band it is safe to say that the overall effect is to try and extend the myth of Led Zeppelin. It is designed to make you think that there is more to the band than there actually is. As the camera looks into the crowd you get the feeling that they are mesmerised by the presence of the band. This isn’t just a gig but a religious experience. An alternative explanation is that the looks of love and awe were chemically induced! 

My overall impression of the film is that of variable quality in both the movie sense and music sense. There are some moments in the film that are absolutely electric, during the concert footage, where you can understand why they were hailed as the best band in the world. The opening - Rock and Roll - gets things off to a tremendous start and many of the more famous riff-based songs fare well. But they do retreat into the more self indulgent, long versions of various songs that was symptomatic of that “progressive” era which can be a big yawn after a while. More jazz than rock. Maybe that’s why there are the dream sequences which tend to be played over an extended solo in the concert. However, Stairway To Heaven does provide one of the highpoints. There is more than a little technical proficiency and panache in Jimmy Page’s guitar work but he tries to prove it time and time again. But I guess that this is what fans expected at the time and much of the filming is based around close ups of Page playing his guitar and posing. However, he is outgunned in the posing department by the lion-haired, lead singer Robert Plant who stands and wiggles his hips in an almost effeminate posture before unleashing his powerful and unique voice.

The film can be magnificent and irritating at the same time. I can’t help but compare it to The Kids Are Alright with The Who. Kids has a vibrant energy as a film and a record of performances that The Song… only reaches in small segments. But there are large parts of The Song… when it just seems a bit too pretentious and a bit too much like fodder for the Spinal Tap script. I am still a fan of the music but I can’t buy into the Led Zeppelin myth. Having read many reports of their live gigs over the years it seems they tended to be a bit hit and miss as a live band (although the Madison Square Garden performance was very good). So when you see that 20 million people tried to get tickets for the reunion gig I find that a bit surprising. But I am an old cynic and all the myth building in the intervening years has clearly done its job to herald the return of the rock messiahs. I am sure that The Song Remains The Same has also played its part in this process.

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1999 was one of my favourite years. I studied film and the cinema for a year at John Leggott sixth form college in Scunthorpe and ended up with an “A” Level in Film Studies. For years I had avidly watched movies at the cinema and on the television and more recently on video. I had even done a short course on the effects of media on society in my university degree in 1973. But I had never been introduced to appreciating films critically. I knew a little about the history of the cinema, a little about the grammar and business of films but this course put it all together and gave me a much greater appreciation of the whole package.

There I was, a forty something guy, going through this course with a group of young sixth form students (18 years old at the most). The lecturer - Alistair Mickie - was a joy, really enthusiastic about his subject and it rubbed off on to everybody. It gave me a great lift to go down to the college one night a week and forget about the worries of the day job. I had decades of experience of watching films over the kids and could quite easily pull out specific examples from my memory. I particularly enjoyed the detailed analyses of parts of films and found new meanings and images that I had never seen before. You suddenly start to understand what the director or the actors meant to get across. The theory gave me an insight into how to watch and understand films better than before. It gave me a new lease of life.

Watching Eisenstein and the old Russian directors showed me what montage was all about. We even tried to do a Proppian analysis of the story in Casablanca - the first time that the teacher had even tried this. Even analysis of more recent films (not necessarily great ones) such as Speed and The Net provided insights into the grammar of film and the underlying story telling. Studying Kubrick as an auteur/author and the rules on different genres and being able to discuss them and listen to different views was quite liberating. We had to watch Citizen Kane, every one had to not because it is supposed to be the greatest film of all time but because, as a student it gave you examples of so many cinematic and editing techniques that it could be an example in almost all of the exam questions. And you could choose to analyse more closely some of your favourite films. I chose Seven Samurai and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Very different but very rewarding.

I don’t consider myself a film geek or even an authority. I am an enthusiast. I can still watch new films and appreciate them better than I used to. I have very eclectic tastes. From Hollywood to Art House, studio blockbusters to small independent films, english, american or sub titled and virtually any genre (although I am not too keen on romantic weepies - my better half loves them wouldn’t you know!). I do know that following that course helped me appreciate films and the cinema a lot more. Reading books is fine but discussion and debate makes it better. I suppose film forums and film chat rooms can provide that sort of outlet for your views nowadays. It opens your eyes and sharpens your senses and gives you a vocabulary to talk about a visual medium.

My main message from this post is to keep learning about film. That way you can get a better appreciation and ultimately more satisfaction watching films whether they are good or bad.

We all know a great film when we see one don’t we? Well not always. What is a great film to someone may be awful to someone else. Films are very subjective. Citizen Kane leaves film critics in raptures but today’s teenager will wonder what all the fuss is about (and probably hate it to boot).

We all have our own ideas about what makes a great film. Are popular films great? You would think that something that draws in audiences in their thousands and millions must be great. Not so. Look at Rush Hour 2 and Pearl Harbour. It could be just that the latest hot film star is appearing in their next movie. Bankable stars in mediocre movies. What about Harrison Ford in Sabrina and Six Days, Seven Nights. Your favourite auteur film director’s latest offering should be great based on past performance. Not necessarily. Even Spielberg slips up occasionally – look at 1942 and Amistad. Conversely, some great films have inauspicious beginnings. What film did little business at the box office but became one of the most successful DVDs of all time and in the process became re-evaluated as a great film? The Shawshank Redemption.

All I’ve tried to do is to show that there is no simple way to forecast what will make a great film. As usual it is a combination of factors that, mixed together and cooked at the right temperature with loving care, produce a great film. I believe that no one factor on its own can produce greatness. Not just the director, not just the star, not just the subject. Not just the story or script.

However, two or usually three or more factors working together can do it. Here is my list of ingredients for greatness.

• Story/ Script – This is the most important ingredient for me. You need a story that grabs the audience and takes them with it on a journey. It must affect the audience’s emotions. You need a script that does justice to the story and provides colour and originality to the action. If you don’t have a good story or script you rely too heavily on other factors and the probability of producing a great film plummets. Watch The Godfather I and II. Great stories from an average book but even better scripts. You are drawn into another world with very different codes of conduct and behaviour and morals. The Shawshank Redemption’s story is gripping even though the script came out of a short story by Steven King. Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven provides an unusual raw and downbeat view of the old west with no heroes riding off into the sunset.
• Acting – good actors telling a good story gives the basis for greatness. One example of greatness that involves just a good story and great acting is Salvador. James Woods gives a career high performance as the thoroughly unlikeable war photographer who goes to El Salvador to make money and retrieve his reputation and in the process gets caught up in the civil war. Good supporting cast performances particularly by James Belushi as his unwitting sidekick drive the film with a nervous energy that has you wincing and squirming. It could be the film that disproves my previous hypothesis where the acting alone could make this film great. A more recent example might be Forest Whittaker’s portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland.
• Cinematography – By this I mean that what you see on the screen makes you go wow. Not just the CGI although that has to be taken into consideration e.g. The Lord of The Rings. But just consider David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia. Beautiful sweeping cinematography conveys the epic feel of the film, the vastness of the desert, the scale of the battles. However, you can equally be impressed by the edgy quality of the cinematography in something like Traffic or Heat. You can also marvel at the beauty, colour and technical artistry in some of the recent Chinese films such as The House of Flying Daggers and In the Mood for Love. 
• Editing – Editing conveys the pace of the film and splices the narrative together. Poor editing can leave an audience confused or bored. A well edited film will enhance the story telling and adjust the pace of the story to the action. Well edited films will have an internal rhythm to them.
• Direction – You may wonder why I’ve taken so long to get to direction. The director is the ringmaster and as such needs to juggle all the above (and more such as art direction, sound, costume etc.) to come up with a great film. The great ones can coax new meanings and nuances out of formulaic stories and scripts. Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket could have been just another Vietnam war movie but he turned it into a psychological study that showed the dehumanisation of young recruits to help them face the horrors of war. They provoke exciting performances from average actors. Just watch the incredible performance of Sharon Stone coaxed out by Martin Scorcese in Casino. They can inject beauty, originality and controversy into what could have been mundane films.  Terence Malick’s Days of Heaven uses beautiful photography of the American mid west plains to reflect the ebb and flow of the story. They can tap into the issues in society today and make films relevant to the audience. Spielberg does a great job of raising discussion of crime detection and the legal system by projecting a future where crimes can be detected before they happen in Minority Report. Even historical films can touch a nerve by reflecting issues that are important in today’s society. Kurosawa’s medieval Japanese masterpiece – Rashomon – is all about deception and the search for truth played out as a whodunit in the case of an alleged rape in the woods. And directors can put their own individual stamp on films which has lead to the cult of auteurism or authorship.

There you are. Only five factors but great films will have at least two and usually more of these factors present. Just think of films you believe are great films and assess them against these factors. It is fairly simple to do. Do they stand up?

In conclusion. Why is Citizen Kane a great film? Well, it has at least three of the above factors. The story is good although a little dated now as it is about the rise of a press baron (loosely based on the life of Randolph Hearst) and shows the arc of his life and the effect on people around him. However, it does not engage the emotions of the audience and is quite cold. Where it scores highly is in the cinematography, the editing and the direction. The cinematography and editing are ground-breaking and extremely well executed and were way ahead of their time. They actually helped to form a new grammar for films. The direction was excellent in that the telling of the story and the use of new cinematography techniques add nuances and layers to the film beyond the story and script. One could argue that the acting was first rate as well from Orson Welles as the eponymous lead and Joseph Cotton. So, 3or 4 out of 5 is pretty good. Whether it is the best film of all time………

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Why is it that you don’t see any decent films about pop music any more? In the sixties and seventies there were films like Woodstock, Monterey Pop, The Kids Are Alright and numerous other commercial films covering either pop music events or the rock lifestyle. I suppose the easy answer is that we are in the MTV generation where kids have access to so much choice in pop music programming on television that the market is saturated. To undertake a full blown movie would be a risky business in terms of competition. Just look at the number of pop music events covered on the television. Even the BBC provides copious coverage of Glastonbury. If there’s a festival happening there will be some coverage of it through the TV medium whether it be terrestrial or satellite.

But aren’t we missing something? True, there is so much choice but it is fairly sanitised and regimented and self censoring. Some of the great pop music films happened at key times during the last century. They were pioneers in the medium and upset the establishment. They said something about the social and cultural setting in which they were made. They were not just tapes of live performances but social commentaries on the times of upheaval in young people’s lives.

Woodstock exposed the hippy culture to the world and for few short years influenced the young people of the world until the reality of drug use hit home. Not many great performances other than Hendrix’s version of the Star Spangled Banner but the atmosphere, the smell of the event and the times was palpable. It was only supposed to be a small music festival for a few thousand punters but caught the imagination of the young people of America who showed up in their hundreds of thousands. The orgainsers were overwhelmed for the three days of the festival - and it descended into chaos. No rules, no boundaries - a big mess for the authorities. Nirvana for the youth of America.

Monterey Pop showed the music establishment trying to deal with changes in music and unleashed the career of Jimi Hendrix. A short time before it had been a folk and jazz festival but all of that changed when Bob Dylan did the unthinkable and went electric. When he did that he was booed by the way! Monterey Pop showed a great diversity of music and performances from mainstream Mamas and Papas to big blues with Big Brother and the Holding Company (lead singer a certain Janis Joplin) to the Who and Hendrix.

My favourite pop music film of that era is The Kids Are Alright featuring the rise of The Who. Or the ‘orrible Who as Roger Daltrey calls them. It shows the group as individuals and what makes them tick interspersed with some electric live performances and iconic TV moments. It conveys a real sense of youthful anger and restlessness not only in the music but in the interviews as well as some madcap moments with Keith Moon and Ringo Starr. See where instrument bashing and destruction originally came from! It’s nice to see that The Who (or the remaining members - Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey) are still touring and can still see off the young ‘uns - just watch their performance at Glastonbury 2007 to check that out. Getting on a bit now but you still see the odd spark of that unrest and anger. Even something like The Great Rock and Roll Swindle in the seventies featuring the Sex Pistols does not show the rebelliousness of youth so well as The Kids Are Alright.

Are kids still rebellious? Of course they are. But they seem to be channeled through main stream media. The establishment has learnt its lesson from the anarchy of the past. Could a Woodstock happen again? Not likely, too much organization, health and safety etc., rules and regulations. Even Glastonbury is safe, socially and culturally speaking. For goodness sake, parents want to go as well! Management of events and the music industry are tightly controlled and not easily changed. Events rarely have the danger (physical or otherwise) and naughtiness attached to them now. Although it was comforting to see youthful rebellion can still rear its head at events when the crowd invaded the stage during Iggy Pop and The Stooges performance at Glastonbury this year and caused mayhem for several minutes.

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I have recently been working on a free toolbar specifically designed for film enthusiasts. And now I have one to launch to the world! It’s fairly basic at the moment but I will continue developing it and adding whatever features I can to it, hopefully, with your help.

As I said it is designed with film enthusiasts in mind and has a number of features that will make their (and my) life easier, such as:

• A direct link to the Films @ Dave’s Info Cafe web site! (I am developing it after all)
• Google search functionality
• Links to specialist film-related web sites and resources
• RSS feeds from film-related web sites and blogs
• Direct messaging facility
• Ticker box with access to reviews of the latest DVD releases
• Chat room restricted to other toolbar members ie film enthusiasts!
• Windows Media Player - easy access button

I addition there are several other useful features on the toolbar, such as:

• Pop Up blocker
• Email notifier - customise it so that you can access any or all of your email accounts and be notified of incoming mail
• Weather - customise this to find out what the weather is like in your part of the world (or any part of the world for that matter)
• Radio player - listen to a selection of online radio stations while you are surfing

If you are interested you can download it from the link below:

http://filmsdavesinfocafe.OurToolbar.com

I have loaded it on to my computer and have been using it for a few days. I have run the full Yahoo Spyware scan on my hard disk after I installed it and found no problems. However, I regularly scan my hard disk for spyware and suggest you do the same as a matter of routine.

This is only the start. I will be developing the toolbar over the course of the next few months. If you download it you will see any improvements that I make AUTOMATICALLY. It will change before your eyes! You will not have to uninstall and then install the latest version. Please let me have you feedback on the toolbar, particularly any more film-related links and RSS feeds. I can then add them and everyone can share the improvement. If you have any ideas for more film-related functionality I will try to take them on board (within the limitations of the software that I am using).

This is another Squidoo lens that I am developing about Akira Kurosawa’s films. They complement this blog and allow me to provide information sources based on some of my favourite directors. So please go over to the site and have a look.

If you are a Kurosawa fan then you can vote for your favourite film in the online poll. Or you can just leave some comments about the lens, what you think of it or how you think it could be made better. just click on the link below

Link to Best Akira Kurosawa Films on Squidoo

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DRUNKEN ANGEL (1948) Akira Kurosawa | Criterion | DVD

THRONE OF BLOOD (1957) Akira Kurosawa | Criterion | DVD

RAN (1985) Akira Kurosawa | Criterion Edition | R1 DVD

RASHOMON (1952) Akira Kurosawa | Criterion | DVD

I have just set up a lens on Squidoo to provide an information resource on Stanley Kubrick. Squidoo seems to be a good framework for developing an online resource in this way. If you are interested in Kubrick why not click on the link below and you will have access to Kubrick information links, YouTube videos, dvds, books and soundtracks.

I intend to develop other lenses for other s of my favourite film directors. So watch this space.

Link to Best Stanley Kubrick Films on Squidoo

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In one of my previous posts I talked about the future of film-making and how easy it is to get started nowadays. Any one with a home video camera and a PC can make a film.

Well, it is even easier than that, because any one with a mobile phone (with camera that can take video) can make a short film clip and display it all over the world via YouTube in a matter of seconds. This is an incredible phenomenon.

In essence, it’s almost like we have been transported back to the late 1970s. Rock music had become overblown and self indulgent and entrance into the music industry had become quite difficult for up and coming bands. What happened? Punk. Kids getting together and forming bands in garages, learning instruments, rehearsing, and playing any venue they could get into. They maybe didn’t have the musical skills of the older, more established bands but they made up for it in raw energy. Pubs and clubs opened up to showcase this new breed of rock. There was an punk explosion of talent that gave the music industry a shot in the arm.

This is what I see with YouTube. People who previously had not thought about making films are now making their own films and clips and sharing with their friends and the rest of the world via this incredible conduit - YouTube. There is a lot of rubbish on YouTube granted but you can also see the work of fledgling film makers in their mini epics that have been cleverly realized.

You see fantastic ideas put on screen in 10 minute format. One clip that hit the UK national news was a film taken on their mobile phone by a person whilst they were skiing down an escalator in a London Underground station. Interesting but dangerous. I looked on YouTube today and found two contrasting but very interesting presentations. The first one was the latest in a series called “Cube News”. Basically, “Cube News” is news for “cube dwellers” ie the office workers of today and is a humorous and irreverent look at life in today’s offices presented by a good-looking and feisty female. It is presented in a news programme format inside a “cube” and deals with all of the annoyances and frustrations surrounding working in a “cube”. The second was more of a documentary called “Heavy Metal in Baghdad” filmed using only a hand held video camera. In a series of films, the story traces the progress of two independent music executives trying to film Iraq’s only heavy metal band. But what you get is an insight into what life is actually like in Baghdad at the moment, something you would never get from traditional news publishers. A real eye opener!

YouTube also provides the ability for you to search through videos. For instance, I am a Scunthorpe United follower. So, I can search for all of the videos posted about Scunthorpe United. You can keep up to date with clips from terrestrial TV, camera phone and video at the press of a button.

This is a breeding ground for the next generation of film makers I’m sure. YouTube has millions of hits every week. Many more people watch clips on this site than go to the cinema. Short films of odd and strange events attract hundreds of thousands of visitors. I suppose the beauty of it is that the audience don’t have to pay for the privilege of seeing these masterpieces to get a couple of hours worth of entertainment.

I have no doubt that there is any army of Hollywood executives watching YouTube scouring for talent, getting ideas for movies and using it as a marketing device for their multi million dollar product. It is already plain to see that major studios plant their trailers on YouTube to gauge market reaction.

YouTube is an incredible facility. It allows any one regardless of whether they have any money, or whether they know the right people to make their own films and have them viewed across the world. Individual expression now has a global outlet.

In the next post I will look at whether YouTube is being abused.