I'm Famous! Kind of...

Yours truly rates a mention in the latest issue of Delirium magazine. In his Video Store Confidential! column, Suspect Video's Luis Ceriz continues his overview of zine history with Part 2: The Canucks! His article includes such vintage titles from the 1980s-90s film zine boom as Trash Compactor, Sub-Terrenea, Tame, etc. Even recent pubs like The Laser Blast Film Society rate a mention, in reference to the "zine" renaissance of late. 

Alas, ESR doesn't get a mention, but the first (and so far, only) issue of my other zine Eurofantasmo! is featured in the article. Eurofantasmo! was published in Dec. 2017 in concordance with my birthday. One Sunday afternoon I celebrated the big day with two things I hadn't had in a long time: a screening and a zine launch! Eurofantasmo! was an attempt to get back into the self-publishing world, with a zine that examined the bottomless catalogue of European genre films. The intent was for each issue to explore one theme. Issue #1 offered up a brief history of Superhero-Supervillain cinema, inspired by Italian comic strips, followed by reviews of some key films. (The second issue is still in preparation: it was put on hiatus due to family emergencies and then, pandemic.)

Since that birthday screening-zine launch party, I've given out issues of Eurofantasmo! #1 to people as I've seen them. Therefore, I'm delighted and think it's quite hilarious to see that this one-off, with no fanfare, distribution or even any reviews, has been included in a history of the film zine format. 

On the other hand, after 25 issues and 12 years, ESR continues to be excluded from zine history, and I can only blame myself and bad timing for that. The first issue of ESR was published in 2001, several years after the big "film zine boom" petered out, and a few years before the zine scene in general kind of wound down. I admittedly didn't promote it through any more channels than self-distribution, and appearances at trade shows around town. It felt like there was just enough time to research, write, publish and move on to the next issue. I should have had a point of purchase, i.e. putting them up for consignment at stores like Suspect, so that they got seen. Plus, I've always regretted not breaking into the US market. This folly has of course affected its exclusion from history.

Events in recent months have forced me to ponder what there is ahead, and what I've left behind. Alas, I wish to leave this post with a positive note. The new website is forthcoming, as is its return to print. From here, it can only go upwards. 

There is a saying that when you complete a work, it's no longer "yours", as it leaves into the hands of others. From there, you just never know where your creation ends up. If it makes a difference to anyone, and enriches their lives even briefly, then it's worth it. I'm glad that Eurofantasmo! has done that. Thanks Luis, for the plug.

Look for Delirium wherever magazines are sold.

[VHS Mondays] Teenage Theater

In 1987, the amazing Rhino Home Video released a series of vintage 1950s juvenile delinquent and rockabilly films under the banner, Teenage Theater. Each tape featured wraparound segments by the queen of 50s exploitation, Mamie Van Doren, who would introduce the film by a pink Cadillac, standing in front of a vintage jukebox, or while seated in a retro 50s diner, all while making goo goo eyes at leather-jacketed young men. And why not? She still looked great in her mid-50s when these were produced... in fact she still looks great at 89! 

The titles included: Arch Hall Jr.'s classic Wild Guitar, Roger Corman's Carnival Rock, the docu-drama cautionary tale Teenage Devil Dolls,  John Ashley as High School Caesar, the Texas-lensed rockabilly film Rock Baby Rock It and the "teenagers on the lam" gem, Naked Youth. Another title in the Teenage Theater banner was The Violent Years, a "girl gang on the loose" fable scripted by the one and only Edward D. Wood Jr.! Its arrival to home video was timely, as earlier in the decade, there was a renewed interest in Ed Wood, thanks in part to the Golden Turkey Awards book, the compilation film It Came From Hollywood, and revivals of Plan 9 From Outer Space and Glen Or Glenda. VHS brought a second life to many vintage titles, and arguably helped find first-time audiences for forgotten films. The VHS release of The Violent Years was revelatory in this regard. While he did not direct, this film is vintage Wood alone, just for the dialogue. Another Teenage Theater release was the compilation film, Teenage Confidential: a terrific compendium of vintage JD trailers and excerpts, masterminded by showman and rockabilly institution, Johnny Legend. 

Rhino Home Video was hardly the first to re-issue 50s B films for VHS (Sinister Cinema and Canada's own Admit One predate them by several years), but arguably, theirs was the first video company to brand a personality surrounding their releases. For instance, Rhino would issue compilation tapes presented by Johnny Legend, such as Battle Of The Bombs (a "best of the worst" compendium), Bambi Meets Godzilla And Other Weird Cartoons, Dope Mania (bet you can guess what that is), and of course, the Sleazemania series, featuring trailers of vintage sleaze and sexploitation films. (In a few years, Mike Vraney's Something Weird Video would continue the tradition of a company's unique branding surrounding home video releases of vintage exploitation.) 

The Teenage Theater Gallery (click on any box to see them bigger in a lightbox)

Teenage Theater was a notch above the usual nostalgic releases, for the Mamie Van Doren segments, and for an opening theme song (!), with such humourous lines as "pill popping punks", that played over clips from each of the films in the series. Some nice person edited together all of the wraparound sequences from this tape series, into one Youtube video, which can be enjoyed in the link below. And don't be surprised if by the end you too will be singing "Tee-EE-nage THEE-ater" in the same falsetto voice.

Rhino re-issued the series, in the mid-90s, with all the wraparound segments still intact, however in EP mode. The slipcases on the re-issues do have a distinctive branding however, that still made them attractive to collectors.

For people like yours truly who came of age in the burgeoning VHS era, and was discovering films for the first time as they were being made available to home video, Teenage Theater was a terrific "crash course" on vintage JD films. In fact, the only misgiving one could have is that none of Mamie Van Doren's own movies are featured in the tape series. (Untamed Youth would have been a perfect fit, as would have High School Confidential. Perhaps someone did think of it, but it all came down to licensing fees.) My introduction to Teenage Theater was on television, believe it or not. In 1989 and 1990, City TV programmed two all-nighters of vintage "troubled teen" movies, which they packaged as "Too Cool For Rules" night, featuring many Teenage Theater titles, with the theme song and Van Doren segments still intact! 

I later caught up with the actual tapes when I moved back to the city. Sam The Video Man still had some Teenage Theater VHS for sale when they began liquidating in the 2000s! Their packaging and hosted sequences remain very attractive for collectors. The films themselves are blasts from the past; writing this article has made me eager to revisit them in the near future. (Postscript: Johnny Legend issued six of these titles to DVD in the boxed set, Teen Mania. But I'm not sure if they're exactly the same prints as the Rhino VHS. A cursory glance at the High School Caesar DVD reveals that some of the song score has been replaced by instrumental music.)

Oh. For the record (and because I'm an incurable archivist), here are the films that City showed on both "Too Cool For Rules" nights. (Additional titles, apart from the Teenage Theater series, were scheduled, but have the same appeal.)

December 30, 1989:

10:30 PM High School Caesar. 

12:00 AM Teenage Confidential. 

01:10 AM The Violent Years. 

02:20 AM Carnival Rock. 

04:00 AM Naked Youth.

June 1, 1990:

10:30 PM Teenage Devil Dolls.

12:00 AM Teenage Thunder.

01:30 AM Wild Guitar.

03:25 AM The Atomic Kid.

[Thursday Nostalgia] My Very First Video Store Haul

Adorning the shelves of many film enthusiasts are titles acquired from a video store closeout sale. Some may be old favourites that they were glad to have. Others just may be something they took a chance on during the last few days of the sale, and it only cost a few bucks!

Closeout sales were usually patterned the same way, either in the heyday of video rentals, or during the recent spate of store closures in the city. Video store owners would sell off their movies by staggering the prices over several weeks. With each coming week, the prices would drop slightly, until the final seven days, when the remainder of stock could be had just for a few bucks each. Usually, the scavengers came out then, trying to find the gold that others overlooked. Back in the VHS era, it was common for videos to sell for fifty dollars in the first week, even if they were ex-rentals, as it was still expensive to buy videotapes new. So if prestige titles had no problem selling for fifty, you could just imagine the table scraps that remained for five!

I began attending closeout sales in those pre-DVD years, during my "swinging Bohemian" days. Rarely did I buy VHS pre-records back then, unless they were reasonably cheap, or unless I knew that I'd watch them again and again. (The first pre-record I ever purchased was Night Of The Living Dead on the Interglobal label, at our local K-Mart. This remains one of the titles I've watched the most, so that was a no-brainer.) Still, the treasure hunter inside me could never resist checking out these sales, even when I was a student on a budget. I'd usually wait until the final week, to see what was still available for five bucks. But you quickly learned how these "final weeks" worked. There seemed to be an unwritten law: the majority of stuff left over for the last seven days would be an entire wall of Canadian films, and a section of Henry Jaglom movies. 

The first closeout sale I ever attended was Budget Videos, formerly on Toronto's St. Nicholas Street. The ad you see in this article was published in the August 24, 1995 issue of Now Magazine. One presumes this store was a big deal, to warrant purchasing a half-page advertisement, for a liquidation that went for about six weeks. Still, I waited until mid-September to peek into the sale. This was when I had just started doing my college field placement at the CFC. One afternoon after work, I popped by when everything was down to $7.95 a tape. Even then, there was a lot of empty shelf space. And there was still one more, final week to go after this, when all remaining stock was a measly $4.95!!!

My intent that afternoon was to merely scope out what was left, and maybe hide a few boxes, in the hopes that they would still be there the following week. However, I did pick up the Republic two-tape set of the complete serial, Daredevils Of The Red Circle, surmising that it would be gone before then. That day, I also hemmed and hawed about picking up the Claudia Jennings classic, Group Marriage, and foolishly decided to take my chances and leave it for next week. Another unwritten law, as sure as the "Canadian films-Henry Jaglom movies" clause: there will always be "one that gets away". I knew I'd regret leaving it. Just to save three bucks? I could have forgone another chicken patty. But, we can't buy everything.

As expected, when I popped in after work the following Monday, when  "$4.95 week" had begun, the store was a feeding frenzy! No Surprise #2: Group Marriage was gone. By then, all the remaining stock was squeezed into one or two aisles. Most of my half hour there was spent on my knees, ducking people fastidiously grabbing unknown boxes from the shelves. At the end of the aisle, there were a few of those big Videohound reference books provided by the store. So if a customer scanned a video box, and wasn't sure if the movie "was for them", they could find a review for it. I remember one guy with round glasses, a blue trenchcoat and a well-guarded stack of titles, thumbing through these books to see what he had. I don't think he put anything back. 

That afternoon, I left with some old favourites for five bucks a pop: Key Video's edition of the spaghetti western A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die; Rob Nilsson's independent film Signal 7, a tremendous influence on making my own movies (and sadly appeared in every video closeout's "final week"); and the New Zealand horror film Strange Behaviour, which impressed me upon viewing it years ago on (pause- sigh) WGRZ's all-night show, The Cat's Pajamas. This haul included some previously unseen titles that I had rolled the dice on: Railroaded (Anthony Mann's supercool B-noir) and Tracks (you guessed it- a Henry Jaglom movie).

Sometimes the stuff in our collections matter more for what they represent than for what they are. Even today, when I look at these video boxes, I don't think of them as film noir, horror, "that Henry Jaglom movie", etc. Instead I think of them as "Budget Video" movies- as a whole. I also think of them as a group because all but the serial were viewed under the same conditions in the following months: late at night, when I had the apartment to myself. Watching movies is generally a lonely vocation. That isolation especially crept in from these misunderstood orphans whose subtle, understated qualities were manifest in the dead of night. By default, I also associate them with that crucial point in my life, as they were viewed during the final semester of school. As I sat alone in that lazy boy, across from my little 13 inch colour TV, I knew soon I would make a bittersweet departure from that groovy bohemian apartment into an uncertain future. Much like the video store these movies came from, it was the end of an era.

That Henry Jaglom movie.

[VHS Mondays] Best Of The CFC

One thing about this Sabbatical- I've been getting caught up on household things I've either put off or didn't have time to do in my previous life. This week I was cleaning "the scary closet", and just in time for this week's VHS Mondays, I found this VHS tape. Vol. 1 The Best Of The CFC, is an offering by Rogers' First Rites label, which distributed Canadian-produced independent films (a redundant phrase, as most of Canada's cinema is independent). My past sojourns into video clearance bins and the like have turned up a couple of their releases (the Tarantino-influenced Trouble immediately comes to mind), but otherwise I don't know much about this banner. A cursory Google search turns up little information, let alone how many titles it distributed, although our friends at Film Trap make a valiant first stab. 

The Best Of The CFC (a Google search does not turn up a "Volume 2"), compiles five short films produced at the Canadian Film Centre, the institution for advanced film studies and production, founded by Norman Jewison in 1988. Featured are: Keith Behrman's Ernest (2002), Vincenzo Natali's Elevated (1996), Andrew Ainsworth's Cleveland Wood's Last Day On Earth (1996), Aubrey Nealon's In Memoriam (2001), and Alex Chapple's The Passion Of John Ruskin (1994).  Re-discovering this tape is rather timely, because lately I've been thinking a lot about when I worked at the CFC while on field placement in college. There is enough material there for a couple of blog posts. Suffice it to say for now, I was there just before Andrew and Vincenzo made these films. I was supposed to have worked as a coordinator on these and the four other shorts that CFC produced at the beginning of 1996. Alas, they couldn't afford to pay me, and I couldn't afford to work free for another six weeks. So, there went my chance to have six professional credits on my resume. (Except for some positions, most of the crew members on CFC shorts were unpaid volunteers. Because of the mystique and prestige surrounding the CFC, and that these films potentially travel the world, these are added incentives for people to get up at 5 AM to lug Seeway pro bono.) 

Among the alumni of CFC residents (writers, producers, directors) are such familiar names as Margot Kidder, Paul Quarrington, Mina Shum and Clement Virgo. Cynthia Dale, Scott Speedman and Sandra Oh are a few of the famous players who have appeared in their films. For some marquee value, the video box for this collection touts the names of Neve Campbell and Mark McKinney (both starring in John Ruskin), plus that of Vincenzo Natali, whose debut feature Cube was made by the CFC's Feature Film Project, just after his work on Elevated, to which this work is thematically similar.  

Still, this got me thinking about how poorly Canadian film history is documented in some areas- especially for short films (that is, those not made by the NFB). You pretty much have to know what you're looking for, and even then, Google searches result in disappointingly little. One time I made a list of CFC titles I remembered checking film prints of in their projection booth, and pasted each of them into a web browser. For many, the returns were disappointingly minute. Additionally, I'd like for there to be a database of all titles that were distributed by First Rites. Hopefully, I can contribute some more HTML to the blogosphere in the near future. With each new generation, there is a cinematic heritage slipping through the cracks that needs to be upheld. Anyway, more on that in a future update. For now, time to pour a cup of coffee and revisit some memories.

What chromium dioxide delights await next week's column? Until then, be kind and rewind!

[Streaming] Warren Sonbert + Mike Kuchar

Because the pandemic has shuttered most theatres, many independent venues and film collectives had chosen to generate some revenue by streaming material online. 

New York's fabled Anthology Film Archives turned to the internet to commemorate what would be their fiftieth anniversary of programming. Last month, for a limited engagement, they streamed an exact reproduction of their very first program decades ago, consisting of a few experimental shorts. And now for a limited time, you are able to view a Mike Kuchar short on their Vimeo account. His 30-minute Death Cult Of The Ju-Ju's (1976; pictured above) can be rented for $3.99 US to stream for a 72-hour period.

Synopsis from the AFA: "Arguably Mike’s solo magnum opus, DEATH QUEST is a mini-epic that gleefully and lovingly combines two of Mike’s favorite – if seemingly irreconcilable – genres. What appears at first to be a straightforward prehistoric tale soon morphs into something else entirely, with the deux ex machina appearance of…sorry, no spoilers. In any case, whatever the genre, DEATH QUEST was made with a nearly non-existent budget, but with admirably game actors, Mike’s uniquely resourceful visual gifts, and his inimitable ability to combine mischievous parody with wide-eyed sincerity."

It is a rare treat to view anything by the brothers George or Mike Kuchar. Click here to view and support the AFA. 

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Warren Sonbert's work warrants multiple viewings- all the more frustrating that one could only see it in various one-off venues. Gartenberg Media is changing that. We belatedly discovered that three of Sonbert's early works, all from 1966, Amphetamine (10 min), Where Did Our Love Go? (15 min) and his modern classic Hall Of Mirrors (7 min, pictured above), can be streamed for free until January 5. 

From Gartenberg's webpage: "Sonbert’s earliest films, in which he captured the spirit of his generation, were inspired first by the university milieu and then by the denizens of the Warhol art scene, including superstars Rene Ricard and Gerard Malanga. In these loosely structured narratives, Sonbert boldly experimented with the relationship between filmmaker and protagonists through extensively choreographed hand-held camera movements within each shot. The mood of these films was further modulated by chiaroscuro effects, achieved primarily through natural lighting (in both indoor and outdoor shots), combined with variations in the raw film stock and the exposure and the use of rock-and-roll music on the soundtrack."

Visit this link here to view them while you still can. More of Sonbert's work will be made available by Gartenberg through 2021.

Joan Micklin Silver (1935 - 2020)

Joan Micklin Silver [May 24, 1935 - Dec. 31, 2020]

Writer-Director Joan Micklin Silver is one of my favourite filmmakers from the 1970s American Renaissance - a time when it was even more rare to see women making feature films. One could say that Ms. Silver (along with others in that small camp: Claudia Weill, Joan Darling, Martha Coolidge and Barbara Loden) was a trailblazer in that vein, as women had to make movies outside of "the system" (aka- The Hollywood Boys Club), and one could make the case that they still have to. But the term "trailblazer" is perhaps the incorrect term to describe the delicate beauty of her work. Rather, her films are of the subtle attributes that many works in "the system" still require: they are understated, unpretentious,  disarmingly quirky, subtly surprising, and feel so organic, alive!

After directing some short films, including the well-regarded PBS short film, Bernice Bobs Her Hair,  and co-writing the screenplay for Limbo (directed by Mark Robson), she made her feature-film debut with 1975's Hester Street, featuring Carol Kane in a breakthrough Oscar nominated role. My favourite of her work, 1977's Between The Lines, features an ensemble of now-familiar talent that was just on the cusp of breaking out (Jeff Goldblum, John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Marilu Henner, Jill Eikenberry, and many others). Her subsequent film, the Bergman-esque Chilly Scenes Of Winter (1979), featuring Heard, Mary Beth Hurt and Gloria Grahame in one of her final roles, is a haunting fable of love gone wrong. The romantic comedy Crossing Delancey (1989), with Amy Irving, was a fine return to feature filmmaking, after spending a decade in television. (Many female directors found work in television after breakthrough features.) Her films were often produced by her husband, the late Raphael D. Silver. He directed one film, On The Yard, a 1978 prison drama also with Heard, which she in turn produced. The Silvers had three daughters: Dina, Marisa, and Claudia. Marisa also began a career of directing similarly subtle, affecting films: Old Enough (1984), and Permanent Record (1988).

FILMS: (as director, and screenwriter*, unless specified): The Immigrant Experience: The Long Long Journey (1972 short, +scr.),Limbo (1972; screenplay only, based on her novel), The Fur Coat Club (1973 short; +scr.), The Case of the Elevator Duck (1974 short; +scr.), Hester Street (1975; +scr.), The Frontier Experience (1975 short, screenplay only), Bernice Bobs Her Hair (1976 short; +scr.), Between the Lines (1977), On The Yard (1978; producer only) Chilly Scenes of Winter (aka- Head Over Heels) (1979; +scr.), Faerie Tale Theatre: The Nightingale (1983 TV short; screenplay only), How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days (1983 TV movie), Finnegan Begin Again (1985 TV movie), Crossing Delancey (1988), Loverboy (1989), Prison Stories: Women on the Inside (1991 TV movie - segment 2), Big Girls Don't Cry... They Get Even (1992), A Private Matter (1992 TV movie), In the Presence of Mine Enemies (1997 TV movie), Invisible Child (1999 TV movie), A Fish in the Bathtub (1999), Charms for the Easy Life (2002 TV movie), Hunger Point (2003 TV movie)

Hester Street: Carol Kane

Between The Lines: Jeff Golblum

Between The Lines: Lindsay Crouse, Gwen Welles

Chilly Scenes Of Winter: John Heard, Mary Beth Hurt

Chilly Scenes Of Winter: Gloria Grahame

Crossing Delancey: Amy Irving, Peter Riegert

Well, That's That

Hi friends. Happy 2021. What follows is a long post, but since it's a statutory holiday, there was time to have written it (and for that matter, there is time to read it). This is the first of what I hope to be a return to increasing our web presence in the year ahead. I know that I've promised this numerous times in the past, and have fallen short. But it appears that, because of the "unprecedented times" in which we now live (yes, I'm as sick of hearing that phrase as you are), time is the one thing I have a repository of right now. 

This blog post is divided into sections for better navigation: 1) Where We Are. 2) Aspirations. 3) Films Seen in 2020. 4) Best Of's... and other lists. 5. Thank You.

1)  Where We Are

After taking care of some personal matters in the past couple of years, it was hoped that 2020 was going to be "our year", until "this thing" came along. I was fortunate to have still had my day job (no, I don't do ESR for a living) for most of 2020 (working from home since March), whereas a lot of my freelance friends still haven't worked since last spring. Alas, after 22 years, my full-time employment ended at the beginning of December (aided in part by the pandemic). The majority are looking forward to 2021 as a "great reset" after that dreadful year, and I especially will be entertaining new possibilities in the months ahead. The clock turning to January One Twenty-Twenty-One is a great symbol of change, but the planet, and the human race, still need a lot of work. If anything can be salvaged from this horrific malady, it's the realization of how badly some things in our world need to be fixed. We have the power and opportunity to change things: it's up to all of us!

There are greater things to worry about right now than yet another film-related collection of HTML, I know. But if these words can offer a bit of relief and comfort to people, well then, we can ask for nothing greater. In addition to the opportunities we'll be seeking in the new year, we will also be journeying towards the ambition to increase ESR's web presence.

2) Aspirations

As we speak, ESR's website is being renovated, with new design, and a wealth of content: including "classic content" from ESR's original print run, and brand new material (DVD reviews, and so on). In keeping the minimum "six-page-a-day" goal, we envision the "new site" to be active in the next few weeks. (It's been taking longer than anticipated, meaning that we must be something right!) 

Upon reaching a greater web presence (and potentially, a greater audience) than before, it is our intention to resume publishing by the end of the year. I'm still a print guy at heart, and think that ESR can still exist in physical media, even if it is "print on demand". The renaissance of "print film zines" in the past few years has shown that there is a new and old audience to support it.

So, feel free to bookmark this blog for announcements of all things ESR in the future, and for more fun film-related posts.

3) Films Seen In 2020

I saw about 430 films (features and shorts) last year. 285 were first-time viewings. That's a lot of celluloid! We could argue about whether seeing that many movies in one year is something to be proud of. However, film history is my passion, and because I chose to keep myself and others safe, most of my waking hours were spent indoors, watching films (when not doing work stuff on the computer, of course). 

The titles listed below comprise all the features and shorts I watched in the past 365 days, organized by their directors. They are displayed this way, because it acts as a personal diary of sorts: reminding me of half-started attempts to study several filmmakers' bodies of work for articles or reviews that never materialized, and to serve as inspiration for future writings.

Notes: an asterisk (*) signifies a repeat screening; (TV) refers to a made-for-TV movie.

Abel Ferrara: The Driller Killer (1979)*
Akos Rathonyi: Cave Of The Living Dead (1964)
Al Adamson: The Female Bunch (1969), Satan's Sadists (1969), Girls For Rent (1974), Blazing Stewardesses (1975)*, Jessi's Girls (1975), Black Samurai (1977)*, The Kill Factor (1978)*, Sunset Cove (1978)*
Al St. John: Shot In The Excitement (1914)
Alain Cavalier: Have I The Right To Kill (1964)
Alan Parker: Come See The Paradise (1990)
Alan Rudolph: Ray Meets Helen (2017)
Alexander Dovzhenko: Earth (1930)
Alexander Grasshoff: Young Americans (1967)
Alfred Hitchcock: The Lady Vanishes (1938)*
Alfred Sole: Pandemonium (1982)
Amos Poe: Subway Riders (1981), Alphabet City (1984)
Ana Mariscal: El camino (1963)
Anatole Litvak: Blues In The Night (1941)
Andrei Tarkovsky: Solaris (1972)*
Andrew Patterson: The Vast Of Night (2019)
Andrew V. McLaglen: The Hellfighters (1969)*, Cahill: United States Marshall (1973)*
Andy Milligan: Guru, The Mad Monk (1970)
Anthony Mann: Two O'Clock Courage (1945)
Antonio Boccaci: Tomb Of Torture (1963)
Antonio Margheriti: The Wild, Wild Planet (1966)*, The Unnaturals (1969), Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Archie Mayo: Sweet And Low-Down (1944)
Arnold Laven: Rough Night In Jericho (1967)
Arthur Dreifuss: Junior Prom (1946)
Arthur J. Bressan Jr.: Buddies (1985)
Arthur Lubin: Ali Baba And The Forty Thieves (1944)
Astrid Henning-Jensen: Krane's Confectionery (1951)

B. Reeves Eason: Truck Busters (1943)
Barbara Hammer: Schizy (1967), X (1973), Dyketactics (1974), Menses (1974), Bent Time (1984), Optic Nerve (1985)
Barry Rosen: Devil's Express (1976)*
Bert I. Gordon: Beginning Of The End (1957)*
Bill Rebane: Blood Harvest (1987)*
Bob Sarles: Fly Jefferson Airplane (2004)
Bong Joon-ho: Snowpiercer (2014), Parasite (2019)
Brian Trenchard-Smith: Dead End Drive-In (1986)
Brian Yuzna: Return Of The Living Dead 3 (1993)
Bruce Baillie: Mr. Hayashi (1961), On Sundays (1961), Here I Am (1962), To Parsifal (1963), Mass For The Dakota Sioux (1964), Quixote (1965), Castro Street (1966)*, Little Girl (1966), All My Life (1966), Valentin de las Sierras (1968), Quick Billy (1971), Roslyn Romance (1976), Tung (1966), Pieta (1998)
Bruce Kessler: Simon, King Of The Witches (1971)*
Bruce Weber: Let's Get Lost (1989)*
Bruno Mattei: Cruel Jaws (1995)
Bruno VeSota: The Brain Eaters (1958)*
Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline: One Week (1920), The Balloonatic (1923)
Buzz Kulik: Warning Shot (1967)*

Caleb Deschanel: The Escape Artist (1982)
Carl Lerner: Black Like Me (1964)
Carl Reiner: Enter Laughing (1967), The Comic (1969), Where's Poppa? (1970)
Carlos Enrique Taboada: Even The Wind Is Afraid (1968)
Carol Reed: Night Train To Munich (1940)*
Chano Urueta: The Witch's Mirror (1962)
Charles B. Pierce: Grayeagle (1977)
Charley Chase: Fifteen Minutes (1921)
Chris Lamson: Soundies: A Musical History (2007)
Chris Robinson: The Intruder (1975)*
Christopher Morahan: All Neat In Black Stockings (1969)
Chuck Bail: Cleopatra Jones And The Casino Of Gold (1975), The Gumball Rally (1976)*
Chuck Russell: The Blob (1988)
Cindy Sherman: Office Killer (1997)
Clark L. Paylow: Ring Of Terror (1962)
Claude Chabrol: The Third Lover (1962)
Clint Eastwood: Space Cowboys (2000)*, Richard Jewell (2019)
Constantine S. Gochis: The Redeemer: Son Of Satan (1978)
Curtis Harrington: Planet Of Blood (1966)*
Cynthia Scott: The Company Of Strangers (1990)

D. Ross Lederman: Bullet Scars (1942)
Dale Berry: Hot-Blooded Woman (1965)
Dario Argento: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970), Inferno (1980)*
Darren Aronofsky: Pi (1998)
David Anspaugh: Fresh Horses (1988)
David Cronenberg: Shivers (1975)*
David DeCoteau: Deadly Embrace (1989)
David Gregory: Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)
David Howard: The Fighting Gringo (1939)*
David Twohy: The Arrival (1996)
David Wickes: Sweeney! (1977)
Dean Alioto: The McPherson Tape (1989)
Deborah Stratman: Vever: (for Barbara) (2018)
Delmer Daves: A Summer Place (1959)
Diane Kurys: Entre Nous (1983)
Director X: Across The Line (2015)
Don Owen: Partners (1976)
Don Siegel: Hell Is For Heroes (1962)*
Donald Wolfe: Savage Intruder (1970)
Duccio Tessari: Death Occurred Last Night (1970), Un centesimo di secondo (1981)

Eddie Davis: Panic In The City (1968)*

Eddie Romero: Black Mama, White Mama (1972)*, Beyond Atlantis (1973)*
Edgar G. Ulmer: The Cavern (1965)
Edo Bertoglio: Downtown 81 (2000)*
Edouard Molinaro: Just The Way You Are (1984)
Edward Bell: American Heart (1992)
Edward D. Wood, Jr.: Night Of The Ghouls (1959)*
Edward Owens: Remembrance: A Portrait Study (1967), Tomorrow's Promises (1967), Private Imaginings And Narrative Facts (1970)
Edward Yang: Yi Yi (2000)
Elio Petri: The Teacher From Vigevano (1963)
Enzo G. Castellari: Kill Them All And Come Back Alone (1968), Cold Eyes Of Fear (1971), The New Barbarians (1983)
Erle C. Kenton: Devil's Playground (1937)
Ernest Pintoff: Who Killed Mary What'sername? (1971)

Ferde Grofe Jr.: Day Of The Wolves (1971)*
Fernando Mendez: The Living Coffin (1959)
Franco Giraldi: Sugar Colt (1966)
Frank McDonald: Gunfight At Comanche Creek (1963)
Fred Dekker: Night Of The Creeps (1986)*
Fred Olen Ray: Biohazard (1985), Commando Squad (1987)*, Terminal Force (1989)*, Bikini Drive-In (1995)
Freddie Francis: They Came From Beyond Space (1967)*
Fredric Hobbs: Godmonster Of Indian Flats (1973)*
Fritz Lang: House By The River (1950)

Gary Youngman: Rush It (1978)
George A. Romero: There's Always Vanilla (1971)*, Jack's Wife (1972)*, The Crazies (1973)*
George Englund: Zachariah (1971)*
George Marshall: Destry (1954)
George Montgomery: Guerillas In Pink Lace (1964)
Gilbert Cates: I Never Sang For My Father (1970)*, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (1973)
George Nierenberg: Say Amen, Somebody (1982)
Gilbert W. Taylor: Frankenstein On Campus (1970)
Giuliano Carmineo: Convoy Busters (1975)
Gjon Mili: Jammin' The Blues (1944)*
Gregg Araki: The Living End (1992)*
Greta Gerwig: Lady Bird (2017)
Greta Schiller, Andrea Weiss: International Sweethearts Of Rhythm (1986)
Guillermo del Toro: The Shape Of Water (2017)

Hal Ashby: 8 Million Ways To Die (1986)
Hal Hartley: The Unbelievable Truth (1989)*, Trust (1990)*, Simple Men (1992)*, Opera 1 (1994), Flirt (1995)
Hal Kanter: I Married A Woman (1958)

Harry Sutherland: Track Two (1982)
Harry Thomason: Encounter With The Unknown (1973)*, So Sad About Gloria (1973)*, The Day It Came To Earth (1979)*
Helia Colombo: The Police Are Blundering In The Dark (1975)
Henry Lehrman: Father Was A Loafer (1915)
Henri Verneuil: The Burglars (1971)*
Herb Wallerstein: Snowbeast (1977) (TV)*
Herbert Ross: I Ought To Be In Pictures (1982)
Herman Hoffman: The Invisible Boy (1957)
Howard Hawks: The Crowd Roars (1932), Ceiling Zero (1936), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Air Force (1943), I Was A Male War Bride (1949), Monkey Business (1952)*, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)*, Rio Bravo (1959)*, Man's Favorite Sport? (1964)*, El Dorado (1967)*, Rio Lobo (1970)*

Irvin S. Yeaworth: The Blob (1958)*
Irving Lerner: Murder By Contract (1958)
Isaac Julien: Derek (2008)
Ivan Passer: Cutter's Way (1981)*
J. Lee Thompson: The Weak And The Wicked (1954), An Alligator Named Daisy (1955), As Long As They're Happy (1955), Tiger Bay (1959), Eye Of The Devil (1966)

Jacinto Molina: The Beast And The Magic Sword (1983)
Jack Sholder: The Hidden (1987)*
Jack Smight: The Third Day (1965)
Jacqueline Audry: Olivia (1951)
Jacques Becker: Antoine And Antoinette (1947)
Jacques Demy: Lola (1961)*, Bay Of Angels (1963)*, Model Shop (1969), Une Chambre en Ville (1982)
James A. Sullivan: Night Fright (1967)
James Glickenhaus: The Astrologer (1977)
James Landis: Stakeout! (1962)*, The Nasty Rabbit (1964)*, Deadwood '76 (1965)*, Rat Fink (1965)
Jan Troell: Zandy's Bride (1974)
Javier Aguirre: The Killer Is One Of Thirteen (1973)
Jean-Marie Pelissie: The Bride (1973)
Jean-Pierre Melville: Le Silence de la Mer (1949), When You Read This Letter (1953), Two Men In Manhattan (1959)*
Jeff Feuerzeig: The Devil And Daniel Johnston (2005)
Jeff Renfroe: I Am Steve McQueen (2014)
Jess Franco: The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus (1962), Two Female Spies With Flowered Panties (1978), The Night Of Open Sex (1983), Bahia blanca (1984)
Jess Robbins: Meet Father (1924)
Jesse Hibbs: Rails Into Laramie (1954)
Jodie Mack: The Grand Bizarre (2018)
Joe O'Connell: Danger God (2019)
Joe Rock: The Whirlwind (1922)
John Ainsworth: The One-Eyed Soldiers (1967)*
John Baxter: Crooks Tour (1941)
John G. Avildsen: Cry Uncle! (1971), For Keeps (1988),  Rocky V (1990)
John H. Auer: Hell's Half Acre (954)
John Hancock: Let's Scare Jessica To Death (1971)
John Hayes: Dream No Evil (1970)
John Stewart: Action U.S.A. (1989)
John Sturges: Sign Of The Ram (1948), Mystery Street (1950), The Magnificent Seven (1960)*, Joe Kidd (1972)*

John Sturges, Duilio Coletti: Chino (1973)*
Jonathan Demme: Last Embrace (1979)*, Philadelphia (1993)*
Jose Ramon Larraz: Black Candles (1982)
Joseph Cates: Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965)
Joseph M. Newman: King Of The Roaring 20's - The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
Julian Schnabel: Basquiat (1996)*
Julie Dash: Daughters Of The Dust (1991)*

Karim Dridi: Cuba Feliz (2000)
Ken Kwapis: Vibes (1988)
Kenneth Hartford: Hell Squad (1986)
Kenneth Hartford, David L. Hewitt: The Lucifer Complex (1979)*
Kirsten Johnson: Cameraperson (2016)
Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juliano Dornelles: Bacurau (2019)
Konstantin Yershov, Georgi Kropachyov: Viy (1967)

l'Atelier national du Manitoba: Kubasa In A Glass: The Fetishized Winnipeg TV Commercial 1976-1992 (2005)*, Death By Popcorn: The Tragedy Of The Winnipeg Jets (2006)
Lamont Johnson: Cattle Annie And Little Britches (1981)*
Larry Buchanan: Creature Of Destruction (1967)
Larry Cohen: Perfect Strangers (1984)
Laszlo Benedek: Port Of New York (1949)
Lee Philips: Wanted: The Sundance Woman (1976)*
Leigh Jason: The Choppers (1961)*
Leon Klimovsky: Trauma (1978)
Lesley Selander: Revolt At Fort Laramie (1957)
Lewis Jackson: Christmas Evil (1980)*
Lo Wei: The Chinese Connection (1972)
Louis Belanger: Gaz Bar Blues (2003)
Louis Malle: Murmur Of The Heart (1971)*, The Human Condition (1974), Lacombe, Lucien (1974), Black Moon (1975), May Fools (1990)
Louis Myll: Outs And Ins (1916)
Louise Sherrill: Ghosts Of Hanley House (1968)
Lucio Fulci: The New Gladiators (1984)
Lucrecia Martel: La Cienaga (2001)
Luigi Scattini : Ring Around The World (1966)

Mai Zetterling: Loving Couples (1964)
Mario Bava: Black Sabbath (1963)*, Kill, Baby... Kill! (1966)*, Hatchet For The Honeymoon (1970)*, Baron Blood (1972)*, Shock (1977)*
Mark Rydell: On Golden Pond (1981)*
Martin B. Cohen: Rebel Rousers (1970)*
Martin Goldman: Dark August (1976)
Martin McDonagh: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri (2017)
Matt Austin: Don't You Forget About Me (2009)
Matthew Chapman: Strangers Kiss (1983)*
Maurice Cloche, Federico Chentrens : The Killer Likes Candy (1968)
Max & Dave Fleischer: The Fade Away (1925)
Maya Deren: A Study In Choreography For The Camera (1945)*
Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid: Meshes Of The Afternoon (1943)*, At Land (1944)*, The Private Life Of A Cat (1946)
Michael Chapman: All The Right Moves (1983)
Michael Fengler, Rainer Werner Fassbinder: Why Does Herr R. Run Amok (1970)*
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger: Black Narcissus (1947)*, Gone To Earth (1950)

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Rouben Mamoulian: The Wild Heart (1952)*
Michael Rubbo: The Peanut Butter Solution (1985)
Michele Lupo: Master Stroke (1967), The Master Touch (1972)*, Mean Frank And Crazy Tony (1973)*, Why Did You Pick On Me? (1980)
Milos Forman: The Firemen's Ball (1967)*
Monte Hellman: Ride In The Whirlwind (1965)*, The Shooting (1967)*, Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out (1989)

Nagisa Oshima: Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Pelin Esmer: 10 to 11 (2009)
Penny Marshall: Big (1988)*
Peter Adair, Lucy Massie Phenix, Veronica Selver, Andrew Brown, Rob Epstein: Word Is Out Stories Of Some Of Our Lives (1977)
Peter Bogdanovich: What's Up, Doc? (1972)*, Paper Moon (1973)*
Peter Fonda: Wanda Nevada (1979)
Peter Hall: Perfect Friday (1970)
Peter Hyams: The Star Chamber (1983)*
Peter Markle: Youngblood (1986)
Peter Weir: Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975)*
Pierre Chevalier: Panther Squad (1985)
Pupi Avati: The House Of The Laughing Windows (1976)

R.G. Springsteen: Hellfire (1949), Hostile Guns (1967)*
Rachel Amodeo: Rest In Peace (1991), What About Me? (1993), Pierre Paolo (1998)
Rafael Baledon: The Curse Of The Crying Woman (1961)
Ray Danton: Deathmaster (1972)*
Ray Dennis Steckler: Wild Guitar (1962)*, The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963)*, Rat Pfink A Boo Boo (1964)*, The Thrill Killers (1965)*, Lemon Grove Kids Meet The Monsters (1968)*, Body Fever (1969)*
Reginald Harkema: Leslie, My Name Is Evil (2009)
Rene Clement: And Hope To Die (1972)
Rene Daalder: Population: 1 (1986)
Richard Brooks: Bite The Bullet (1975)
Richard Fleischer: The Spikes Gang (1974)*
Richard Kelly: Donnie Darko (2001), Southland Tales (2006)
Richard Stanley: Color Out Of Space (2019)
Rick Sloane: The Visitants (1986)
Riley Stearns: The Art Of Self-Defense (2019)
Rob Nilsson: Gotta Be Otto: (A Film About Going to See a Film) (1970)
Rob Reiner: Stand By Me (1986)*
Robert Aldrich: Ten Seconds To Hell (1959), ...All The Marbles (1981)
Robert Allen Schnitzer: The Premonition (1975)
Robert Clouse: Gymkata (1985)*
Robert Gordon: The Gatling Gun (1971)*
Robert M. Young: Rich Kids (1979)
Robert Michael Lewis: Pray For The Wildcats (1974) (TV)
Robert Siodmak: Cobra Woman (1944)*, Cry Of The City (1948)*
Robert Voskanian: The Child (1977)*
Robert W. Morgan: Blood Stalkers (1976)
Robert Warmflash: Death Promise (1977)*
Roger Vadim: Les Liaisons Dangereuses 1960 (1959)
Roland Klick: Supermarkt (1974)
Ron Howard: The Paper (1994)
Roy Rowland: The Moonlighter (1953)
Rudolph Cusumano: Wild Ones On Wheels (1962)*
Ruggero Deodato: The Concorde Affair (1979)
Russ Marker: The Yesterday Machine (1963)
Ryan Mains: Ferris's Room (2018)

Sam Mendes: 1917 (2019)
Sam Wanamaker: Catlow (1971)*
Sarah Kelly: Full Tilt Boogie (1997)
Satyajit Ray: The Home And The World (1984)
Sergei Goncharoff: House Of Terror (1973)
Sergio Corbucci: The Slave (1962), The Specialists (1970), Odds And Evens (1978)
Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh (1971)
Shirley Clarke: Ornette: Made In America (1985)*
Sidney J. Furie: A Cool Sound From Hell (1959)
Sidney Lumet: The Offence (1973)
Stephen Roberts: Cheer Up (1924)
Steven Spielberg: The Post (2017)
Stuart Millar: Rooster Cogburn (1975)*
Susan Seidelman: Smithereens (1982)*, Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)*, Making Mr. Right (1987)
Sydney Pollack: This Property Is Condemned (1966), The Scalphunters (1968)*

Tara Johns: The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011)
Ted Kotcheff: Billy Two Hats (1974)*
Ted V. Mikels: Girl In Gold Boots (1968)*
Teresa Prata: Sleepwalking Land (2007)
Theodore Gershuny: Sugar Cookies (1973)
Theodore Melfi: Hidden Figures (2016)*
Thomas Michael Donnelly: Quicksilver (1986)
Tom Buckingham: The Two Johns (1923)
Tom Clegg: Sweeney 2 (1978)
Tom Gries: Number One (1969)
Tom Moore: Mark Of The Witch (1970)
Tsuneo Kobayashi: Four Hours Of Terror (1959)

Umberto Lenzi: Orgasmo (1968), So Sweet… So Perverse (1969)

Věra Chytilová: Daisies (1966)
Vernon Zimmerman: Fade To Black (1980)
Vincente Minnelli: The Sandpiper (1965)

Wally Campo: Mark Of The Gun (1969)*
Wayne Wang: Slam Dance (1987)*
William K. Howard: Mary Burns, Fugitive (1935)
William Beaudine: Why Wild Men Go Wild (1920)
William Davidson: The Ivy League Killers (1959)
William Wiard: Tom Horn (1980)*
Wolf Rilla: Roadhouse Girl (1953), The Large Rope (1953)
Worth Keeter: Lady Grey (1980)

Zelda Barron: Shag (1989)

(no director credited): An Eye For Figures (1920)

4) Best Ofs... and other lists.

The Best "First Time Viewings" Of 2020

i) Creme de la creme

Yi Yi (Edward Yang) 

The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Jeff Feuerzig)

Lacombe, Lucien (Louis Malle)

Parasite (Bong Joon-ho)

Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks) 

Bite the Bullet (Richard Brooks)

Gaz Bar Blues (Louis Belanger)

Antoine and Antoinette (Jacques Becker)

Bacurau (Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juliano Dornelles)

And Hope to Die (Rene Clement)

The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro)

Air Force (Howard Hawks)

Rich Kids (Robert M. Young) 

One Week (Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline)

ii) Honourable Mentions

Cameraperson (Kirsten Johnson)

Let's Scare Jessica to Death (John Hancock)

Dark August (Martin Goldman)

Perfect Friday (Peter Hall)

Young Americans (Alexander Grasshoff)

Fly Jefferson Airplane (Bob Sarles)

Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (Peter Adair, Lucy Massie Phenix, Veronica Selver, Andrew Brown, Rob Epstein)

Murder by Contract (Irving Lerner)

The Vast of Night (Andrew Patterson)

The Grand Bizarre (Jodie Mack)

The Balloonatic (Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline)

Quixote (Bruce Baillie)

Mass for the Dakota Sioux (Bruce Baillie)

International Sweethearts of Rhythm (Greta Schiller, Andrea Weiss)

Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig)

Bent Time (Barbara Hammer)

Vever (For Barbara) (Deborah Stratman)

Gone to Earth (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)

iii) New "Midnight, Cult, Whatever" Discoveries

I loathe the phrase "Guilty Pleasures", which is commonly used to describe B-movies, cult films, or whatever, as if to say that someone should be ashamed of watching these movies. Well, ESR's mandate that "all films matter" has no use for cultural snobbery like that. In fact, many "imperfect" movies such as these offer more memorable and original moments of cinema than other more mainstream, antiseptic (better?) film offerings.

Hell Squad (Kenneth Hartford) - awesome "all-girl team of mercenaries made from showgirls" action.

Cruel Jaws (Bruno Mattei) - amazing Italian Jaws rip-off

Dr. Frankenstein on Campus (Gilbert W. Taylor) - unsung Canadian horror, made at U of T!

Bahía blanca (Jess Franco) - a restoration of an unsung Franco film that begs comparison to a Howard Hawks "hangout" movie.

Action U.S.A. (John Stewart) - more than what the generic title implies, very entertaining, with stunts galore.

Fade to Black (Vernon Zimmerman) - rather ingenious parable of movie love taken to the extreme.

Dead End Drive-In (Brian Trenchard-Smith) - pretty brilliant post-Apoc fable.

iv) Best Revivals of 2020

Before March's lockdown, we still had ten weeks of "normalcy" in the film community last year. Here are the noteworthy revivals I managed to see during that time, thanks to second-run venues and independent cinema-screening collectives.

A Cool Sound From Hell - Long-lost Sidney J. Furie JD film, presented with live jazz band, personal appearance by Phil Nimmons, aged 96, who had scored the movie back in 1958, and Skype interview with director Furie, live from a post-production facility, still working at age 86!

Partners - Ultra-obscure film from Don Owen (Nobody Waved Goodbye), presented as part of U of T's "Toronto Film Review" screenings, with the director's son in attendance to provide some insights.

Tribute To Barbara Hammer - Retrospective of works by Barbara Hammer (see her titles above), who had recently passed away, presented by the CFMDC. Included was Deborah Stratman's Vever (For Barbara), a marvellous tribute film.

Edward Owens - Part of the TIFF Wavelength series, a trio of hard-to-find independent shorts by Edward Owens (see titles above).

5) Thank You

We haven't forgotten about you; we hope you haven't forgotten about us. The light is coming, let's continue hanging in there, being safe, and supporting each other however we can, so that we can reunite in person sooner rather than later. 

Thanks for taking the trip with us. 

All my very best - peace.

Greg