Films watched 2022: a catch-up
Well, happy New Year LJ / DW! I hope anyone reading this had a lovely celebration last night and is starting 2024 in good spirits.
As recently as April 2023 ( LJ / DW), I was still trying to catch up on writing anything at all about a massive backlog of films I'd watched, mainly with Joel. But I still had 30 films outstanding from 2022 at that point, and have now watched 104 in 2023.
There is no way on this earth I'm going to manage to write anything coherent or meaningful about all of those 134 movies now, so it is just going to have to be lists at this point. Maybe with the occasional explanatory note if there was something special about the viewing experience or I wrote something down at the time. Here we go:
52. Bride of Frankenstein (1935), dir. James Whale
53. Nosferatu (1922), dir. F.W. Murnau - seen in Saltaire with live improvised accompaniment played on a Wurlitzer organ by a man who had only seen the film twice (might even have been once?) before. An amazing experience, also greatly enhanced by Joel driving us there in his hearse, and he and I having decided completely independently to wear black suits with waistcoats and white shirts for the occasion.
54. Trick or Treat (1986), dir. Michael Dougherty
55. The Vampire Journals (1997), dir. Ted Nicolaou
56. Dracula Live From Transylvania (1989), dir. Roger Cardinal and John Joslyn
57. Dracula (1931), dir. Tod Browning
58. The Mummy (1932), dir. Karl Freund
59. The Ninth Gate (1999), dir. Roman Polanski
60. Subspecies (1991), dir. Ted Nicolaou
61. Daughters of Darkness (1971), dir. Harry Kümel - seen at the Vue in The Light as part of the Leeds International Film Festival, complete with a Q&A with with director, Harry Kümel. He talked about some of the things he'd aimed for in creating the film, e.g. in the use of colours and costumes, but also said that it was what its viewers made of it, not what he dictated.
62. The Velvet Goldmine (1998), dir. Todd Haynes
63. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), dir. Terence Fisher
64. The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971), dir. Robert Fuest
65. The Plague of the Zombies (1966), dir. John Gilling - the first of four Hammer films watched over two nights in a freezing cold former scenery store attached to an theatre gradually being restored by volunteers. Details which caught my attention on this viewing were the cross-cutting between the Christian ceremony of Alice's funeral and the voodoo ceremony of Hamilton turning her into a zombie, and the statue of Mercury visible in Hamilton's office reflecting his actions in leading people into death (a twisted psychopomp).
66. The Devil Rides Out (1968), dir. Terence Fisher - a classic. Not sure I'd ever really notice the grasses / herbs lain across the door and window sills in the room with the chalk circle before. Presumably all part of the ritual.
67. The Gorgon (1964), dir. Terence Fisher - it's OK, but was certainly the weakest film we saw this weekend. There are just too many unanswered questions, leaving it feeling incoherent. Why does the gorgon live a double life as Clara? Why does she hide away in in aristocratic house? I did like the siren-like singing luring Paul to the house, though.
68. Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), dir. Terence Fisher - closing the weekend in fine form!
69. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), dir. Henry Selick - a lovely film, of course, but it does feel quite dated now. I could have done with more insights into the development of the romance between Sally and Jack. As things stand, it's basically just presented as a romantic fait accompli.
70. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), dir. Don Scardino - a film about rifts and reconciliations between stage musicians. Sweet and funny.
71. Scrooge (1970), dir. Ronald Neame - musical version starring Albert Finney and one of Joel's childhood nostalgia-based Christmas traditions. He'd be the first to admit some of the songs in it are dreadful, but some are fun, and it's certainly a nicely-realised version of the story.
72. Plebs: Soldiers of Rome (2022), dir. Sam Leifer - I still miss the TV series, but this film certainly gave it an appropriate send-off. Showed the influence of Gladiator, Britannia and Xena.
73. The Skull (1965), dir. Freddie Francis - nice little film about the Marquis de Sade's skull starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and featuring characteristic Freddie Francis directorial touches such as objects in the foreground to give depth to a shot.
74. Scrooged (1988), dir. Richard Donner - Bill Murray in a modern take on A Christmas Carol.
75. Micro Men (2009), dir. Saul Metzstein - about the rise and fall of the British home computer industry. Some parts of it reminded me very strongly of my childhood as the daughter of an academic Electrical Engineer in the 1980s.
76. The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992), dir. Brian Henson - neither Joel nor I had see this great cultural touchstone, so we made a secret pact to put that right together.
77. Night of the Demon (1957), dir. Jacques Tourneur - more Christmas watching, viewed in a context of mainlining BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas from my BFI box set.
78. Going Postal (2010), dir. Jon Jones
79. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), dir. Wes Anderson
80. Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000), dir. Joe Chappelle - quasi-historical take on Vlad Dracula with Rudolf Martin, who also played Dracula in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'd talked about it in my World Dracula Day lecture in May 2022, and it's one of Joel's favourite Dracula films, so it was time to watch it together!
81. Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013), dir. Pearry Reginald Teo - silly fantastical pseudo-medieval Dracula narrative which is somehow a great watch nonetheless. The band of heroes charged with defeating him have a magical weapon named the Light Bringer which is effectively a giant Swiss army knife.
As recently as April 2023 ( LJ / DW), I was still trying to catch up on writing anything at all about a massive backlog of films I'd watched, mainly with Joel. But I still had 30 films outstanding from 2022 at that point, and have now watched 104 in 2023.
There is no way on this earth I'm going to manage to write anything coherent or meaningful about all of those 134 movies now, so it is just going to have to be lists at this point. Maybe with the occasional explanatory note if there was something special about the viewing experience or I wrote something down at the time. Here we go:
52. Bride of Frankenstein (1935), dir. James Whale
53. Nosferatu (1922), dir. F.W. Murnau - seen in Saltaire with live improvised accompaniment played on a Wurlitzer organ by a man who had only seen the film twice (might even have been once?) before. An amazing experience, also greatly enhanced by Joel driving us there in his hearse, and he and I having decided completely independently to wear black suits with waistcoats and white shirts for the occasion.
54. Trick or Treat (1986), dir. Michael Dougherty
55. The Vampire Journals (1997), dir. Ted Nicolaou
56. Dracula Live From Transylvania (1989), dir. Roger Cardinal and John Joslyn
57. Dracula (1931), dir. Tod Browning
58. The Mummy (1932), dir. Karl Freund
59. The Ninth Gate (1999), dir. Roman Polanski
60. Subspecies (1991), dir. Ted Nicolaou
61. Daughters of Darkness (1971), dir. Harry Kümel - seen at the Vue in The Light as part of the Leeds International Film Festival, complete with a Q&A with with director, Harry Kümel. He talked about some of the things he'd aimed for in creating the film, e.g. in the use of colours and costumes, but also said that it was what its viewers made of it, not what he dictated.
62. The Velvet Goldmine (1998), dir. Todd Haynes
63. Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), dir. Terence Fisher
64. The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971), dir. Robert Fuest
65. The Plague of the Zombies (1966), dir. John Gilling - the first of four Hammer films watched over two nights in a freezing cold former scenery store attached to an theatre gradually being restored by volunteers. Details which caught my attention on this viewing were the cross-cutting between the Christian ceremony of Alice's funeral and the voodoo ceremony of Hamilton turning her into a zombie, and the statue of Mercury visible in Hamilton's office reflecting his actions in leading people into death (a twisted psychopomp).
66. The Devil Rides Out (1968), dir. Terence Fisher - a classic. Not sure I'd ever really notice the grasses / herbs lain across the door and window sills in the room with the chalk circle before. Presumably all part of the ritual.
67. The Gorgon (1964), dir. Terence Fisher - it's OK, but was certainly the weakest film we saw this weekend. There are just too many unanswered questions, leaving it feeling incoherent. Why does the gorgon live a double life as Clara? Why does she hide away in in aristocratic house? I did like the siren-like singing luring Paul to the house, though.
68. Dracula Prince of Darkness (1966), dir. Terence Fisher - closing the weekend in fine form!
69. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), dir. Henry Selick - a lovely film, of course, but it does feel quite dated now. I could have done with more insights into the development of the romance between Sally and Jack. As things stand, it's basically just presented as a romantic fait accompli.
70. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013), dir. Don Scardino - a film about rifts and reconciliations between stage musicians. Sweet and funny.
71. Scrooge (1970), dir. Ronald Neame - musical version starring Albert Finney and one of Joel's childhood nostalgia-based Christmas traditions. He'd be the first to admit some of the songs in it are dreadful, but some are fun, and it's certainly a nicely-realised version of the story.
72. Plebs: Soldiers of Rome (2022), dir. Sam Leifer - I still miss the TV series, but this film certainly gave it an appropriate send-off. Showed the influence of Gladiator, Britannia and Xena.
73. The Skull (1965), dir. Freddie Francis - nice little film about the Marquis de Sade's skull starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and featuring characteristic Freddie Francis directorial touches such as objects in the foreground to give depth to a shot.
74. Scrooged (1988), dir. Richard Donner - Bill Murray in a modern take on A Christmas Carol.
75. Micro Men (2009), dir. Saul Metzstein - about the rise and fall of the British home computer industry. Some parts of it reminded me very strongly of my childhood as the daughter of an academic Electrical Engineer in the 1980s.
76. The Muppets Christmas Carol (1992), dir. Brian Henson - neither Joel nor I had see this great cultural touchstone, so we made a secret pact to put that right together.
77. Night of the Demon (1957), dir. Jacques Tourneur - more Christmas watching, viewed in a context of mainlining BBC Ghost Stories for Christmas from my BFI box set.
78. Going Postal (2010), dir. Jon Jones
79. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), dir. Wes Anderson
80. Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000), dir. Joe Chappelle - quasi-historical take on Vlad Dracula with Rudolf Martin, who also played Dracula in an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'd talked about it in my World Dracula Day lecture in May 2022, and it's one of Joel's favourite Dracula films, so it was time to watch it together!
81. Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013), dir. Pearry Reginald Teo - silly fantastical pseudo-medieval Dracula narrative which is somehow a great watch nonetheless. The band of heroes charged with defeating him have a magical weapon named the Light Bringer which is effectively a giant Swiss army knife.