Angel's Egg

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Angel's Egg!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th November 2022

This past couple of months I have been watching really lesser known movies - and no doubt confusing my audience in the process. So I did consider watching something more well known but then, for whatever reason, I changed my mind.
So we head back to the anime well to tackle this movie. Now I knew of this movie as it has a reputation with anime fans in that a) it was an early effort from director Mamoru Oshii (the man who would later give us Patlabor 1 & 2 and Ghost in the Shell), b) it is something more of an art piece than a movie and c) is near incomprehensible. Still, I'm game.

And it would seem that this movie's reputation is well deserved. Sure the animation is impressive and the art direction is stunning, but there is a lot of symbolism being put to work here - and one can understand how it may be off-putting. It should be noted that, in regards to this movie's puzzling nature, it was built around a loss of faith. And there is certainly a lot of Christian symbolism throughout this movie although whether or not it works is anyone's guess (it should be noted that Oshii himself still seems puzzled by the finished product). Personally, this is certainly a visually striking movie but what one gets out of it is up to them.
As for next week? I think I have exhausted this run of lesser known movies - so i think i will go for something more familiar..

Persistence of Vision

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Persistence of Vision!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th November 2022

Two weeks ago i watched The Thief and the Cobbler: the Recobbled Cut - a fan edit of an unfinished animated film. This then led me to this evening's feature: a documentary of the original work itself.

It should come as no surprise to see a documentary on this topic as the story behind it is a fascinating one. This is, after all, telling the story of a movie that was never completed. But even if the destination was never reached, the journey is all we have.
And what a journey it was: The goal of animator Richard Williams to keep pushing the boundaries of what animation can accomplish; the decades long production time with backers dropping in and out; the battle between the creative genius and business side that never seems to reconcile; the seemingly endless pursuit of perfection; that the film originated as a 'side-hustle' in-between doing commercials; the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit leading to Warner Brothers stepping in (and out).
Indeed it is fascinating to see something develop that will remain unfinished. Guess nothing holds sway like the notion of What Could've Been.

The Roxette Diaries

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Roxette Diaries!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th November 2022

Anyone heard of this? This is a collection of footage taken of Swedish popstars Roxette during their late 1980s/early 1990s heyday - all taken in the 'home video' style. And I only knew of it once it showed up on my streaming service.
Personally, when i was a kid in the late eighties, Roxette seemed to me like the biggest stars on the planet: They had multiple hits that got tonnes of radio play and a constant presence on early morning rage. Of course in the years since, Roxette's material may come across as dated but to be one of Sweden's biggest pop exports (second only to ABBA) is nothing to sniffed at. And besides it's unlikely that Savage Garden would've existed without them.

So what this movie is a whole bunch of footage captured on (presumably) camcorders shot by both Roxette themselves and friends. We see footage of live shows, goofing around backstage, store appearances, music video shoots, gold record presentations, and generally, Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle being themselves. Granted this is nothing new given we have YouTube and TikTok, but the fact that it was utilizing the tech of the time is impressive.

Thing is, I have to wonder: What is the point of this? The obvious answer is, as mentioned above, showing Marie and Per as themselves. I won't fault that that - it is even spelled out in a statement at the beginning - but a lot of the footage i found to be arranged in such a haphazard manner: There is little to no context of the footage. And the pace is VERY hurried, with some sequences moving on just as soon as they arrive. And such editing choices do indeed seem at odds with the mission statement.
So yeah. a great idea handicapped with some strange editing choices. Damn...

The Thief and the Cobbler: The Re-cobbled Cut

And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Thief and the Cobbler: The Re-cobbled Cut!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th November 2022

Some background: In the 1960s animator Richard Williams commenced work on an animated film that would later be dubbed The Thief and the Cobbler. Williams would then spend the next twenty eight years (!) working on it. And in that time, he would make a herculean effort into the quality of animation, he would keep adding bigger and grander ideas, would see backers come in & out and miss multiple deadlines. Eventually, Williams would lose control of his work to liquidators and the film would be completed under different hands, becoming two separate films: The Princess and the Cobbler and Arabian Knight.
But it didn't stop one dedicated fan, Garrett Gilchrist, to make a fan edit of the movie using what resources they had.
Now with this series there is one concrete rule: I must watch a movie I haven't seen all the way through. However fan-edits can represent something of a loophole. But in any case, this edit has quite the story behind it and is enough to grab my interest.

In the terms of fan edits, this is impressive: Using what animated footage he could find, Garrett put it all together with the support of those who worked on the original and incorporated test footage and work prints into the edit. Some footage was even corrected of animation errors. Impressive? Yes. A staggering amount of effort? Of course. But is the finished product any good?

Given so much time was spent on the animation, it should come to no surprise that it is of very high quality. The artwork is very beautiful, boasting an arresting art direction and an extraordinary sense of movement that leaves more recent animation for dead. If Williams wanted to make this movie to show what animation can do then I don't doubt it.
But unfortunately that's all there is. The plot is all over the place, there is a lot of random scenes and some sequences just simply drag on. Sure there is style but no much in the way of substance.
Still this film exists as a monument to animation and what a dedicated fan can accomplish. So I will give it that