Large Association of Movie Blogs
Large Association of Movie Blogs

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Film Noir Blogathon



The Self-Styled Siren and Ferdy On Films co-host the Film Preservation Blogathon, A.K.A. For The Love Of Film (Noir) Blogathon, which started yesterday and extends through February 21.



Hopefully, the blogathon will raise 1947 vintage Brinks trunks full of do-re-me for the cause of film preservation. The fundraiser is not only inspiring terrific writing, but even has its own promotional trailer, created by Greg Ferrara!



Here's a link to the Pay Pal page for the fundraiser, which also has a Facebook group.

The Film Noir Foundation has been instrumental in the re-evaluation and preservation of the fascinating dark corners of American post-WW2 cinema. The latest vintage film noir targeted for restoration by the UCLA Film And Television Archive: Cy Endfield's hard-hitting drama The Sound Of Fury.

Although American genre films were acclaimed as early as the mid-1950's by Cahiers du cinéma filmmaker-critics Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol, it took decades and the persistent efforts of historians for film noir to get respect - and for the following taut, provocative thrillers to make the transition from overlooked programmers to celebrated classic movies.











And. . . to indirectly continue the blues thread from yesterday's posting, but tie it into the For The Love Of Film (Noir) Blogathon, listen to the following smoky, bluesy, most atmospheric "noir jazz" pieces by the great Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus. If these compositions don't conjure visions of a messed-up looking Robert Mitchum, face down underneath a barstool and pondering why his magic carpet ride has become an inexorable, screaming toboggan to Hell on the Death Spiral Express, nothing will.




3 comments:

Tinky said...

I love your clips--and thanks for throwing in a little jazz for us!

Paul F. Etcheverry said...

Thanks, Tinky - glad you enjoyed them!

Wish I still had an operational turntable to play my vinyl copies of Mingus' The Black Saint And The Sinner Lady and the 1943 Duke Ellington Orchestra Carnegie Hall concerts. To steal a line from an album title: genius + soul = jazz.

Don J. Long said...

Hey Paul,
Thanks for this very cool blog about some of my favorite things, film noir cinema...and the really cool jazz! Like, dramatic, baby!