It begins
So there's a crazy man who's got a blog where he documents his watching every single episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000... in chronological order. And I gotta say, it's so crazy an idea that it makes me kind of jealous that I didn't think of it first.
The concept is interesting -- watching how the show evolves, how things change, how things stay the same... what is it that made the show so good, and what got it there. I learned about this guy because of his doing MST3K, but apparently this is a regular hobby of his, and he does it with various film directors. Seeing how the Coen Brothers approached every movie over the years is a pretty nifty idea too.
Maybe some day, when I have the ultimate MST3K collection, I too, will embark on the journey he has undergone. But then I got to thinking that it might not be a bad idea to examine another body of work in this manner. Maybe not with a TV show (something like The Simpsons and South Park would be too easy to do), but to do a specific filmmaker. Say someone like a David Lynch or a Spike Jonze or an Akira Kurosawa...
How about a Hayao Miyazaki?
YES. This is my quest. My journey in life. To watch the work of Hayao Miyazaki in chronological order. The very meaning of the Cosmos may lie somewhere within.
Needless to say, my girlfriend doesn't sound too bullish on the idea. But I bet she'd totally dig it if I did this with Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino.
So it's settled. I will watch Miyazaki. But first I must collect Miyazaki. And I don't just mean his movies either. There are decades' worth of TV shows to accumulate.
Which brings up the issue... do I do anything Miyazaki worked on? He was an in-between animator to a lot of shows in the 60s and 70s, shows that would be impossible to find in Japan, let alone here in the States. No, I should limit myself to his major projects -- stuff he directed, stuff that he wrote, and maybe stuff that he produced (I can sneak in some Isao Takahata flicks into the mix if I choose this last qualification).
Ok, so now I must accumulate. I have the movies. I have his various Ghibli commercials and shorts. I have Panda Go Panda. I somehow have 76 episodes or so of Future Boy Conan.
I need some more Sherlock Hound. Should be relatively easy to find on eBay, and it gives me an excuse to finally finish that series. I need that live-action documentary he produced about Japanese canals. Crap, maybe I should leave off the "produced by Miyazaki" qualification. I need Lupin III. Double crap.
I know he did some episodes, but besides those two that Streamline put out from the second series, I'm a little vague on specifics. Does anyone know how involved he was in the original series? Does anyone know if those have even been released or fansubbed?
The journey begins.
The concept is interesting -- watching how the show evolves, how things change, how things stay the same... what is it that made the show so good, and what got it there. I learned about this guy because of his doing MST3K, but apparently this is a regular hobby of his, and he does it with various film directors. Seeing how the Coen Brothers approached every movie over the years is a pretty nifty idea too.
Maybe some day, when I have the ultimate MST3K collection, I too, will embark on the journey he has undergone. But then I got to thinking that it might not be a bad idea to examine another body of work in this manner. Maybe not with a TV show (something like The Simpsons and South Park would be too easy to do), but to do a specific filmmaker. Say someone like a David Lynch or a Spike Jonze or an Akira Kurosawa...
How about a Hayao Miyazaki?
YES. This is my quest. My journey in life. To watch the work of Hayao Miyazaki in chronological order. The very meaning of the Cosmos may lie somewhere within.
Needless to say, my girlfriend doesn't sound too bullish on the idea. But I bet she'd totally dig it if I did this with Kevin Smith or Quentin Tarantino.
So it's settled. I will watch Miyazaki. But first I must collect Miyazaki. And I don't just mean his movies either. There are decades' worth of TV shows to accumulate.
Which brings up the issue... do I do anything Miyazaki worked on? He was an in-between animator to a lot of shows in the 60s and 70s, shows that would be impossible to find in Japan, let alone here in the States. No, I should limit myself to his major projects -- stuff he directed, stuff that he wrote, and maybe stuff that he produced (I can sneak in some Isao Takahata flicks into the mix if I choose this last qualification).
Ok, so now I must accumulate. I have the movies. I have his various Ghibli commercials and shorts. I have Panda Go Panda. I somehow have 76 episodes or so of Future Boy Conan.
I need some more Sherlock Hound. Should be relatively easy to find on eBay, and it gives me an excuse to finally finish that series. I need that live-action documentary he produced about Japanese canals. Crap, maybe I should leave off the "produced by Miyazaki" qualification. I need Lupin III. Double crap.
I know he did some episodes, but besides those two that Streamline put out from the second series, I'm a little vague on specifics. Does anyone know how involved he was in the original series? Does anyone know if those have even been released or fansubbed?
The journey begins.