#mexican filmmaker

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE ENTERTAINMENT HOBBY SHOP JUNGLE -- L.A. BRANCH.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on Mexican filmmaker + classic manga/anime aficionado, Guillermo Del Toro, photographed alongside a life-size Mazinger Z [super robot], a.ka., "The granddaddy of all mecha," created by Go Nagai -- from inside the Entertainment Hobby Shop Jungle, a.k.a., "Anime Jungle," in Little Tokyo, L.A., CA, c. January 2017.

Source: https://x.com/RealGDT/status/818261506496217091.

[elijahcelayo]

ELIJAH CELAYO INTERVIEW x SOLEON

[frenchnewwaves]

y tú mamá también (2001)

[intheimageofyou]

teaser for my short film!

[emilythedog661-tf2]

soldier holding a mexican flag while engie holds a texan flag

Here you go!

Me and Engineer are super confused why Soldier has the Mexican Flag, we don't even know where he got it from!

[fibula-rasa]

Favorite New-to-me Films—April ‘24

(listed in order pictured above, L to R)

READ on BELOW the JUMP!

They Came to a City (1944)

[letterboxd | imdb | tubi (US)]

In a thought experiment about post-war Britain brought to life, nine strangers from different backgrounds are spirited away to get a glimpse at a socialist utopian civilization. Their reactions are, as expected, varied.

A film adaptation of the J.B. Priestley play of the same name, They Came to a City isn’t thoroughly translated into something cinematic. The sets are visually interesting, but the film never escapes stagey-ness. Regardless, it’s an interesting film worth watching for its candor on social/political attitudes in Britain in the 1940s and the great character writing and acting. (BTW, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Googie Withers give a performance that’s any less than stellar.)

——— ——— ———

Love in the City / L’amore in città (1954)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy (US)]

This Italian documentary anthology dives into love, in many forms, in the city of Rome. Six directors each give an angle on life in the city. Carlo Lizzani provides a portrait of the lives of sex workers. Michelangelo Antonioni profiles women who attempted suicide over love gone wrong. Dino Risi captures a fleeting glimpse of dance hall life. Federico Fellini goes farcical, recounting a story of a “werewolf” applying to a marriage agency. Francesco Maselli and Cesare Zavattini share a sympathetic narrative of a mother who abandoned her baby. Alberto Lattuada provides a satirical look at men ogling (and harassing) women on the street. 

As with all anthologies, the quality varies. Fellini’s segment was unsurprisingly my favorite (the same happened with Spirits of the Dead (1968)). I also deeply appreciated Antonioni’s tackling of such a sensitive topic and Maselli and Zavattini’s attempt to give a more humane spin on Caterina Rigoglioso’s story.

(If you live in the US, the film might be free to watch on kanopy with your library card!)

——— ——— ———

Two Monks / Dos monjes (1934)

[letterboxd | imdb]

When a new monk arrives at a monastery, he is unexpectedly attacked by another monk with a large crucifix. The other monks try to get to the bottom of this insane and seemingly random act of violence and uncover a tragic story of romantic rivals.

Stylistically, Dos monjes doesn’t completely live up to the outstanding gothic-expressionist monastery scenes—the bulk of the film recounting the monks’ past is shot and constructed less adventurously. However, I do think that the execution of a single story told from two different perspectives was strong.

——— ——— ———

Scenes of the Occupation from Gaza (1973)

[letterboxd | imdb | youtube]

Edited together from footage shot by a French news crew, Scenes is a short documentary on the conditions in Gaza following the devastating events of 1967. While an important film historically, it is short and very specific in its subject, so I can only properly recommend it in its historical and political context. That is to say, this film might be lost on you if you aren’t already well-versed or currently educating yourself in the history of Gaza and Palestine. More information about the film can be found on the Tokyo Reels website (info in English is on pages 19-20, the rest is in Japanese and Arabic).

——— ——— ———

Poplar Tree / Тополя (1996)

[letterboxd]

Gorgeously stop-motion animated under the direction of Valentyna Kostylieva, Poplar Tree interprets the Taras Schevchenko poem of the same name. It’s a short story about a woman coping with lost love when those around her wish her to move on.

There is a lovely digitized copy on the Ukrainian animation channel, with no subtitles. However, an English translation of the poem is available here. If you read the poem first, you’ll be good to go!

——— ——— ———

Night of the Seagulls / La noche de las gaviotas (1975)

[letterboxd | imdb | tubi (US)]

A doctor is assigned to a small, seaside village, but when he and his wife arrive, the welcome they receive is ice cold. The doctor and his wife, with the help of their assistant and an abused disabled local, uncover a tradition of sacrificing young women to an undead, demon-worshiping cult of Templar knights.

Night of the Seagulls is technically part of a series, but the films don’t have an overarching narrative, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve seen any of the other films. I have a penchant for supernatural stories that have to do with the sea, so years ago, with no context, I watched Ghost Galleon (1974). My feelings on that film were mixed, but I saw others online recommend Seagulls as the best of the series. I did like this film more, but my feelings are still mixed. A lot of the scenes with the disabled villager are rough to watch and his character on the whole could have been handled much better. The special effects makeup for the skeleton knights was fantastic. I appreciated that the doctor does not dismiss his wife’s concerns off-hand, which is atypical in this kind of story. I also liked how imminent the threat was—the demon knights are already here, so what are the outsiders supposed to do?!

Unique use of crabs.

As an aside, I was struck by how many similarities Seagulls had with the Thriller episode “A Place to Die” especially as they came out within a few months of each other!

——— ——— ———

Hercules in the Haunted World / Ercole al centro della terra (1961)

[letterboxd | imdb | kanopy (US)]

Hercules’ betrothed, Dianara, has been overtaken by dark forces. Her only hope is for Hercules, his best buddy Theseus, and their new friend Telemachus to travel to the underworld and capture the stone of forgetfulness. However, it’s Dianara’s own guardian, Lico, who is behind the plot.

Maybe my favorite new-to-me film I watched this month, Bava’s Hercules is a colorful nightmare and Christopher Lee is pitch perfect as the villain.

——— ——— ———

The Sisters / Le Sorelle (1969)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Diana, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, decides to visit her sister, Martha, at her home in the country. They haven’t seen each other in years, and we learn quickly that their relationship is extremely sordid and neither has dealt with the psychological or emotional consequences of that. It does not end well for either of them.

This was a genuinely strange movie. All things considered, I do think The Sisters would have perhaps worked a bit better/been more meaningful if they were not biological sisters but rather just grew up together (which at points I thought might actually be the case). Great execution of the awkwardness and tension around the men in the film, Martha’s husband and Diana’s suitor, and their slow realization of how profoundly messed up Diana and Martha’s past was. The film touches on so many heavy topics, I don’t freely recommend this. I didn’t even enjoy it, but it was such a unique film, I’m glad I checked it out. It’s definitely going to stick with me!

That said, The Others / Le Altre (1969), which Alessandro Fallay also worked on, I do recommend freely. That one is a sweet dramedy about a lesbian couple in Rome trying to have/raise a baby—essentially the polar opposite queer film to The Sisters.

——— ——— ———

Slayers: The Book of Spells / スレイヤーズすぺしゃる (1996)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Also: Slayers Excellent (1998) & Slayers: The Motion Picture (1995)

The Book of Spells is an anthology/OVA set of three adventures of Lina Inverse and Naga the Serpent, her companion and/or rival, depending on the day. In “The Scary Chimera Plan,” Lina tries to avoid getting chimerized by a crazed wizard, but gets ten extra Nagas for the trouble. In “Jeffry’s Knighthood,” Lina and Naga accept a job as bodyguards for an anemic prince with notions of becoming a knight. In “Mirror, Mirror,” Lina and Naga uncover a rogue magician’s plot to find a long-hidden magic mirror that creates mirror-image dopples of whoever gazes into it.

We watched a whole mess of Lina and Naga movies/OVAs this month. I’ve only seen some of the Slayers TV show and so only really knew about Naga via osmosis. Now, the sound of eleven Nagas laughing in unison will live forever in my nightmares.

——— ——— ———

As always, if any of these films catch your eye, but you need specific trigger/content warnings, don’t hesitate to ask for them!

——— ——— ———

This past month the blog quickly took on a Natacha Rambova theme.

The research I did for my closet cosplay of Rambova, raised so many questions for me about the production and release of her independently produced film, What Price Beauty? (1925), that it became the subject of my next installment of Lost, but not Forgotten.

Cosplay the Classics: Natacha Rambova

Lost, but not Forgotten: What Price Beauty? (1925)

This unplanned theming also informed what gif and still sets I made:

Salomé (1922) 

[This one I actually gif-ed for reference for my upcoming cosplay of Nazimova, which my generous supporters on ko-fi and amazon have made possible! Nazimova cosplay is coming up as the next installment of Cosplay the Classics!]

Camille (1921)

Why Change Your Wife? (1920)  

Forbidden Fruit (1921)

Twilight Q: Time Knot: Reflection (1987) 

[This one had nothing to do with Rambova BTW]

——— ——— ———

As for this month, I hope to highlight some silent stunt spectaculars as I finish putting together the pieces for my Salomé cosplay.

Happy viewing!

☕Appreciate my work? Buy me a coffee! ☕

[filmcourage]

I Sold Out 27 Movie Theaters... Here's How We Did It - Brandon Loran Maxwell

Watch the video interview on YouTube here.

[theraininthestars]

Movie Recomendations for March

Hellooooo dears, I want to recommend these three movies I saw this month and I want to recommend them before the end of March. All three films deal with social issues around women in a raw way, so watch at your own caution.

The first is Ruido by the director Natalia Beristáin, it deals with the story of Julia who is in search of her daughter, Ger. This is a mexican film and portrays one of the harshest realities of the country. There are no heroes here, just victims trying to survive the reality they live in, and it's incredibly hard to watch, but you can't take your eyes off it. 10/10 I will recommend this film with my last breath.

The second is Women Talking directed and written by Sarah Polley, winner of the Oscar for best adapted screenplay. The film is adapted from the book Women Talking by Miriam Towes, which is based on a real event in the Manitoba colony. Both the book and the film imagine scenarios about the reaction that could have to the actual event, and wow. They manage to objectively capture how different perspectives act between the women's decision to stay in their community or to leave. Very good film, but if it doesn't capture you in the first 10 or 20 minutes, better go to the end, so you can see their decision. This film is like watching a debate. I'm going to give it 9.5 out of 10, but it's still an excellent film.

And the last one is Gangubai Kathiawadi directed and co-written by Sanjay Leela Bhansal with script help from Utkarshini Vashishtha. This film was also based on Hussain Zaidi's Mafia Queens of Mumbai. The film tells the life of Gangubai Kothewali and how she became an influential figure in Kamathipura, and eventually India. It's a very good film, and can be an interesting opening for people who want to watch Bollywood movies. The actress, writers and director do a very good job of depicting this tragic story. Although you have to keep in mind that this is a dramatization, and exposes Gangubai's side, it is not an objective story. I give it a 10/10, it is enjoyable, and it is very nice to observe the multifaceted sides of the Indian culture.

I hope you are encouraged to watch the movies and enjoy them, they are films that deal with serious issues and in a harsh way. So if you're not in the emotional state to see it, don't force yourself to do it. Take care of your mental health.

What other movies do you recommend? Have you seen these movies before? What is your favourite thing about movies starring women?

[schlock-luster-video]

On February 24, 1994 El Mariachi debuted in Japan and the Netherlands.

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Cyd Charisse (The Bandwagon, Brigadoon, Singin’ in the Rain)—LEGS LEGS LEGS I would sell my soul for the legs of Cyd Charisse - she oozed style and glamour and sex appeal!! And she could DANCE! She was dancing next to the greats - Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire but they are never who you're looking at because why would you when you can look at her. I will only sit through too long ballet breaks for her. If there was any woman who you could call sex on legs it was her. These dances are everything to meeee (she comes in at the minute mark) and this dance too of course is iconic. In the words of Fred Astaire 'When you've danced with Cyd Charisse you stay danced with'

Rosaura Revueltas (Salt of the Earth)—She was a Mexican actress who is best known for starring in salt of the earth, an amazing pro-labor movie made by blacklisted filmmakers. She also starred in the Mexican remake of madchen in uniform, one of the first representations of lesbian romance onscreen. She was really dedicated to making progressive films and was also such an incredible actress and artist I truly believe more people should know about her and her work.

This is round 3 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Cyd Charisse:

Arguably the Best female dancer of her time, she supposedly insured her legs for $5 million dollars. Stole the show whenever she had a dance number, even if she went uncredited. Musicals started to go out of fashion so unfortunately she didn't have as many big roles as she should have, but those she did are unforgettable. The Broadway Melody number in Singin' in the Rain - the green dress!

Incredibly, Cyd Charisse only started learning to dance as a rehab exercise to strengthen her body after a childhood bout of polio. She was in high demand as a dance partner, Fred Astaire called her beautiful dynamite and said "When you've danced with her, you stayed danced with". She was one of a few leading ladies to dance with both Astaire and Kelly, declaring them both delicious. Kelly apparently was stronger, while Astaire was more coordinated. She also said her husband would always know who she had been dancing with because Kelly left her bruised, while Astaire didn't leave a mark. She's better known for her dance numbers today, but she was a leading lady in her time! Her Scottish accent in Brigadoon leaves a lot to be desired, but compared to the other actors in the movie, it's almost good. She appeared in The Harvey Girls alongside Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury in her first speaking role, but she really burst onto the scene with Singin' in the Rain and her infamous Broadway Melody Ballet number with Gene Kelly (no one could handle a length of fabric like Cyd Charisse). She was brought in because Debbie Reynolds wasn't really a dancer and Kelly was notoriously a stickler about his Vision. After that she starred opposite Astaire in The Band Wagon, which was a bit of a flop but created some enduringly incredible dance numbers. She went on to star in a number of MGM movies, and was one of the last of the Studio era stars to remain on contract. Since we've got up to 1970, I'm including her opening routine in The Silencers (1966) to show just how long she was making a splash - she's into her 40s here and still a siren:

and of course, the iconic Broadway Melody Ballet -

Photos do not do Cyd Charisse justice, unfortunately, because she is at her hottest while dancing, which she was exquisitely good at. Just go watch her first number in Singin' in the Rain, in that green dress; nothing I could say here will be more convincing that that.

She had amazing legs, and she knew how to use them! You probably know her best from the dream sequence in Singin' In The Rain. She was such a stunning dancer, and all her dance scenes are hard to look away from.

Dancing in the Dark clip:

She's an amazing dancer and my favorite from the period. Here's her and Fred Astaire in the Band Wagon:

I just like a woman who's there to be really incredibly good at dancing.

One of the most talented female dancers in Hollywood history, but what sets her apart from other competitors for that title is that she...umm...well let's be blunt, she was the dancer who put sex into it. The one who said "Hey, you know that A+ leg tone that naturally develops from doing this for a living? Why don't I let people see that? Like at every opportunity?" She reportedly insured her legs for five million dollars after hitting it big, which just goes to show that fame makes you crazy. It should have been ten million.

She could pirouette in pointes or tear it up in taps. Fred Astaire called her "beautiful dynamite" and wrote, "That Cyd! When you've danced with her you stay danced with." Gene Kelly partnered with her three times. Her legs were (reportedly) insured for $5 million in 1952 ($57.8 million in 2024 dollars)! Everyone in this poll will be iconic, but for raw physical grace, Cyd is up there with the best.

Legs for days, beautiful dancer in the most iconic scenes of Singin in the Rain. She's glorious. As some guys sung to her in It's Always fair weather, 'baby you knock me out!'

No additional propaganda was submitted for Rosaura Revueltas. Please send me some.

[evermoredeluxe]

Taylor with Oscar-winning Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and family (eras tour mexico city n4) (x)

[comeontaylorspeaknow]

Taylor Swift with Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón and his family (The Eras Tour mexico city, night 4) X

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

"WE ALL STEAL FROM GO NAGAI!"

PIC(S) INFO: Mega spotlight on Mexican filmmaker, and classic manga/anime aficionado, Guillermo Del Toro, photographed alongside two Go Nagai creations, Devilman and Mazinger Z, from inside the Entertainment Hobby Shop Jungle, a.k.a., "Anime Jungle," in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, CA, c. January 2017.

Source: https://x.com/RealGDT/status/818261208281165824 (both found on X).

[mutant-what-not]

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - The concept of the "Gill-man" was developed by producer William Alland after he attended a dinner party at the home of filmmaker Orson Welles in the early 1940s. At the dinner, Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa described the myth of a half-man / half-fish creature who haunted the Amazon River, stealing women from villages. This sparked Alland's imagination and planted the seed for the creature's origins.

This story percolated in the back of Alland's mind for the next decade. In 1952, Alland wrote a script treatment based on the tale titled “The Sea Monster,” in which an amphibious creature falls in love with a woman, gets captured by scientists and dragged back to civilization. The monster goes on a rampage and is killed in the end. Alland has acknowledged that his story was based on the plot of King Kong (1933).

Alland hired film writer Maurice Zimm to take Alland's short treatment and flesh it out into a full story. Zimm's 59-page treatment was then developed into a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross. Ross refined the script, which was an amalgam of scenes from King Kong, The Lost World, It Came from Outer Space and The Thing from Another World.

The screenplay, originally titled Black Lagoon, went through several iterations. While the first of many drafts were being written, Alland decided to drop the King Kong plot of taking the creature back to civilization and kill him off. Instead, anticipating potential movie sequels, Alland called for the story to be confined to the Amazon and the creature's fate left ambiguous. In the subsequent Revenge of the Creature (1955), the Gill-Man would be taken out of the Amazon by scientists and put on public display.

You can get this Gill-Man photo on a retro tin lunch box here:

https://amzn.to/49qRKjy

source monster fan club

[littlefroginapond]

i just had a very visceral reaction to the timothee chalamet rumor.

like i already have anxiety, i don’t need the frail victorian sick boy making me even more anxious

but to the whole point of this: i’m applying to filmmaking schools currently and have been a DC fan for most of my life, so let me tell you that i have OPINIONS on DC casting

btw, these are of course my opinions, but as everyone always says, DC stands for Disregard Canon…

Dick Grayson - Nightwing/Robin I

My Casting: Anthony Keyvan

ideally i would want a Romani actor because Dick is canonically Romani (even if the the origin on why he is… well it’s pretty creepy), but i couldn’t find any.

i also tried finding Indian actors, because the Romani people are originally from a specific part of India and are officially recognized as Indian.

…but there was no luck there either. lmk if you have ideas

but this led me to Anthony Keyvan, who i’m pretty sure is Iranian and Filipino. Filipino actually works for Dick because eskrima (the weapon that Nightwing uses) is a Filipino style weapon, so becoming Nightwing could be a way to tie him back to his roots.

Jason Todd - Red Hood/Robin II

My Casting: Froy Gutierrez

do i headcanon Jason as latino? yes!

is it because Jason grew up poor and abused by his dad? no! (if you headcanon him bring latino because of this… that’s racist my dude)

i actually headcanon Jason being latino because of this actor, who’s half Mexican and half white. a combination of his past acting roles and just his general vibes feel very Jason to me.

Tim Drake - Red Robin/Robin III

My Casting: Aidan Gallagher OR Ian Chen

Tim is the one that i wouldn’t be incredibly mad if they cast Timothee Chalamet as. i mean, i have feelings about only casting A-list actors, but it wouldn’t be the absolute worst.

Tim is typically drawn very angular, which gives a lot of people the headcanon that he’s Asian. i don’t feel super strongly about this, which is why i found 2 actors.

i chose Aidan Gallagher for a couple reasons. one: he’s like 5’5” (at least according to google, i couldn’t find it on imdb). two: his role as Five in Umbrella Academy. UA has always gave me batfam vibes, and i do see Five as the Damian of the group, but for some reason, he also really reminds me of Tim

now if you do headcanon Tim as Asian (which i’m fine with, i’m just not super opinionated on it), then i think Ian Chen would be a good choice. he’s a pretty young actor (i think mid- to late teens), so he hasn’t been in much, but he’s a good comedy actor, which i think works pretty well for Tim.

and finally, the most contested casting of them all…

Damian Wayne - Robin V

DC’s Alleged Casting: Timothee Chalamet

My Casting: Ian Ho

NO. NO. NO.

STOP.

i refuse to let this little white ghost boy play a character that is canonically white, Chinese, and Middle Eastern.

i will say that i had a hard time finding a young actor that is white, Chinese, and Middle Eastern, but Ian Ho is Chinese (allegedly, idk where i actually heard this), so it was the closest i could get.

BUT IT’S STILL CLOSER THAN DC.

these are all my opinions ofc, so don’t take it too seriously. also i definitely have fancasts of the rest of the fam so lmk if you want those too ❤️

[power-chords]

Mexican Filmmakers 🤝 Chicago Jew Filmmakers