The final screening in this class was none other than film lover extraordinaire Quinten Tarentinos latest film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The film takes place in 1969 “Hollywoods Golden Age”. It follows western actor Rick Dalton as he comes to grips with his withering career getting further from the hype he used to have. MEANWHILE the film also manages to tell the tale of the Manson Family and the murder of Sharon Tate, or as this film ends, the murder of the Manson family, he then merges these two plots together for an entertaining 2 and a half hour film and boy is it a journey.

I first saw this film in theaters when it came out, I absolutely loved it. It seemed a lot different than films of his past like he took themes and aesthetics from old films of his and made this movie. It also is a love story to old Hollywood and the films which are some of his biggest inspirations. Watching this film I couldn’t help but recognize everything I learned in past classes of yours and how he was incorporating so much of Hollywood and film history into one film. The spaghetti westerns, the Trippy hippy films of the 60s, the action, the low budget sexy films. There is so much jammed packed into this movie. Another notable part was Margo Robie playing Sharon Tate, she was so charming. In one of the readings this week the author says “The Film Gives Sharon Tate the life she was denied” and I think that sums up a lot of this film perfectly. He rewrote history the way he wanted to, he painted it in his own loving way, its warm and affectionate, something that hasn’t necessarily been shown in films of his past, or at least not to this extent. The ending is bittersweet, It is a sigh of relief when history is changed and everyone ends up happy and safe, sadly this was not the reality of the situation. Walking out of the theater after watching it the first time I felt sad and happy, it’s nice to at least imagine this ideal world.

This film fits in with the class because it is an ode to everything that makes up cult films and films in general. Sharon Tate herself starred in a few cult films one being Valley Of The Dolls. (Side note, great album if anyone into music, Dorthy Ashby does a cover of the film’s theme on her album Afro-Harping which is phenomenal, check it.) Tarantino has created many cult films in the past, I expect this one will follow in the footsteps of those prior, especially for film lovers all over, its a must watch!

Now for the second half of this blog, a reflection on the semester.

First, writing this is extremely bitter sweet as it will be my last blog ever for one of these courses. The second I took my first film class, Intro To Film I was hooked. Ive always been a movie lover so to find a class where i get to discover new films and talk about them, learn more about everything that goes into them was like a dream come true. Ive always had so much fun in every film course i have taken and will 100% look back on them as a favorite part of my undergraduate years. I have learned so much, a lot of which has helped me become inspired with my own painting and photo practice.

This class was so much fun! I am a big fan in cult films in general, all types. I was delighted when we covered a few of my favorites such has Carnival Of Souls (I went through a phase where I listened to that soundtrack constantly, loved the creepy organ music.) Suspira was another one of my favorites that I came into the class already knowing. My friend and i actually went to a show in buffalo last fall of the artist who did the soundtrack Goblin, they preformed the music of Suspiria live, it was absolutely insane being able to experience that intense soundtrack in person. And then obviously John Waters Pink Flamingos. John waters is the king of camp as we learned, everything about his style screams over the top extreme which is what makes him so interesting to watch.

And despite having seen a few of these films, it still felt fresh, new and fun after reading the material and  getting to understand them further. As for the films that were new that i enjoyed. Honestly, most of these films were really interesting and brought a whole new set of ideas to the scope of the weird genre that is cult films. They all taught me something new and planted ideas in my head.

3. The Warriors– The way this film painted New York City and also the pure thrill of this film.

2. Matinee– This film was beautiful and goofy at the same time. We also got to read and learn about the interesting human that William Castle was, that alone put this film into my favorite list.

and 1. Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders – This film was my favorite, visually it was everything i could want. Moody soft color pallets are my favorite tone, or black and white. This film was dizzying and surreal, it felt like a fever dream which is something that appealed to me. It certainly made me feel uncomfortable at times which is something that makes a cult film.

As for my least favorite films it probably had to be Detroit Rock City. Not saying it wasn’t good or enjoyable, actually I think the reason it wasn’t my favorite is probably because in highschool while going through the inevitable angsty phase i spend a tremendous amount of time watching corny rock n roll flicks like this, so it just didn’t really bring anything new for me.

Overall, This course taught me a lot and made me think in ways i hadn’t before, it really sharpened my understanding of cult film and films in general. It was yet another great class.

Thank you much prof. Schlegel for really guiding and shaping my love for film, I have a better understanding and excitement for one of my favorite mediums and for that I am eternally grateful, I will carry what I’ve learned with me as I continue my journey in life!

This week’s screening is a film I have not seen before Detroit Rock City. As it reminds me of many of the movies I watched in high school I’m surprised I hadn’t come across it sooner, I honestly haven’t heard of the film before it was mentioned in this class, that being said, it hasn’t been my favorite film this semester but I did enjoy it very much! The film follows a group of teen boys in a kiss cover band as they go through obstacles to see the band they idolize. Of course, the quest was not easy, if it was I’m sure it would be a boring film, watching their conquest is what makes the movie so fun, along with the rebellious goofy boys. Like, seeing Kiss for these kids was nooooot easy, but that’s what makes the end, when they finally go feel so fulfilling, YES !! They’re finally seeing them after everything. This film like last week’s Dazed and Confused takes place in the 70s, further reflecting on that 70s nostalgia. Watching these two screenings made me think about our generation and if we have any nostalgia in contemporary film or a certain era, honestly the more I think about it the more I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of contemporary films are focused more on political climates than longing for a certain aesthetic of the past. The world seems to be so crazy nowadays it’s hard to focus on much else. Maybe that’s also just where I find myself navigating within film though as that is a topic I am constantly thinking about.  That also only comes through from films I personally have been watching the past few years though so if anyone has anything to contribute to this though I’d love to know. Outside of film I definitely think there is a general at least in my generation a nostalgia for the 90s/early 2000s, our earliest childhood years.

Anyways, back to the film, at one point the kiss fanboys literally beat up a disco duo which is a funny relation to last weeks reading, I can’t remember which but one talked about how disco was literally the hype in 90s music films but Detroit Rock City and Dazed and Confused rebelled against this trend and we quite literally see it, the tagline is “Disco Sucks” that was just so fun.

Another part of this film that I thought was super funny was that the crazy christian  mother of the main character, Jam was soooo conservative, she was like a character straight out of reefer madness. She mentions pot being horrible SO many times in the most absurd dramatic ways (despite chugging down wine and chain smoking cigarettes) she was one of the highlights of the film just because of how ridiculous her character was.

The reading I enjoyed a lot was Cult Cinema And Music. This reading talks exactly what the title says, music, cult films and how they correspond. The first thing i was ever passionate about in life was music, stemming all the way back to elementary school being obsessed with the beatles. Music has always been a huge interest of mine which is why i belive i enjoy cult films so much. Just like the reading discusses cult film and cinema are intertwined. Many musicians pop up in cult films such as Kiss in the screening this week, Bowie in The Man Who Fell to Earth, the Beatles in all of their movies, and many more. Another type of film is the staged concert film, this reading talks about The Talking Heads film Stop Making Sense and how by being a band and making a film like this, it can get your audience into cult films or get the filmgoer interested in your band. Love the talking head and this film by the way! David Byrne is amazing.

Soundtracks to cult films in themselves have a major part of the cult movie experience and can get a cult following of their own, the author talks a lot about Quinten Tarantinos ability to create not only great films but soundtracks that accompany them that gain a cult following as well as the movie, the way he can juxtapose the brutal image with a sugary pop image and I agree, it is quite fascinating how he does it and great to watch! A film I can personally talk about is The Harder They Come (1972). I Had not seen the film until this summer but I have been listening to the films soundtrack by Jimmy Cliff for years, finally when I had time I sat down and watched the film and obviously loved it. That is just my personal experience with the relation between cult film and music, the reading was super interesting and made me think a lot about my self discovery in terms of music and films and how they correlate.

Posted late with permission from the professor

The screening this week is known for its nostalgia, made in the 90s it yearns and reflects on the Stoney daze of the 70s … This film makes me personally nostalgic because when I first watched it I was a stoney high schooler who absolutely loved it. I believe I was in 10th grade so, like 15, it was one of my favorite films for the longest time, so revisiting it made me long for those days, especially in the midst of today’s doom and gloom.   The story is a classic high school story, last day of classes, everyone’s freaking out, rebelling, smoking pot and getting drunk. We’ve seen a lot of high school films, for example, The Breakfast Club, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, yet Dazed And Confused stands out amongst these, it takes us back to the past and the characters carry the film. The film takes course over a day which not much happens besides the usual boring teen banter, but the characters come to life so well, you can’t help but want to join in on the antics with them. In the reading Outsider Nostalgia In Dazed and Confused, the author goes in-depth about these types of films and the culture around them. In the 90s a wave of 70s nostalgia came crashing in film, the author mentions films like Boogie Nights and A Night At The Roxbury. But unlike many of these films Dazed and Confused and Detroit Rock city didn’t follow the disco groovin theme of many of these films, instead, it trailed into its own, a moving rock and roll themed film, both finding their titles named after rock songs, this is what makes them outsider films of their era. Side note one of my favorite movies of this “rock” genre so to say is This Is Spinal Tap (1984) which follows a rock band in a mockumentary style film. It is certainly a cult film which I recommend to people who enjoyed our screening this week, a super funny take on the hairbands of the 80s.

But anyway, back to the reading, I found it extremely interesting the way the author analyzes these films. They truly are outsider films and before I had read this I hadn’t thought about it that way. They have pieces of exploitation films through implied sex and violence but never commit to really delving into that or a coming of age film but it doesn’t have necessarily look at the teens NOW at the moment rather it looks back which many coming of age films didn’t at the time. Dazed And Confused truly is different than many of the films that came before it and I think that is why it is such a loved film, not to mention the amazing character performances by Matthew McConaughey and one of my personal favs Milla Jovovich, 

      like come on, what a queen.

The screening this week was great, and to add to all of the praise the director Richard Linklater has directed some of my favorite films such as The Before Trilogy and Boyhood. They differ very much from the film we watched this week but 100% is worth the watch, especially the Before trilogy which is one of my favorite trilogies that I’ve seen. Such quiet and tender films. (images from below are from these)

Whoa, first let me say, the film this week Valerie and Her Week of Wonders was beautifully filmed, I am a HUGE fan of contrast and the way they contrasted colors, black and white was just beautiful, I did feel a bit odd though, it was an obviously younger girl being constantly sexualized. On paper the film was interesting but I couldn’t help but just think of how disturbing it is to see a young girl sexualized the way she was. That being said, I do plan on watching this again, I just wish they could have made the main girl a bit older so I wouldn’t feel so uncomfortable watching a lot of the highly sexual scenes because if this girl was older, not 13 I would have thought this was a stellar film, that being said, I can’t deny artistically it was ethereal, some of the shots were just so satisfying.

This film is dizzying, its like nightmare daydream. Before this film had watched The Wicker Man 1973 which despite being very different visually are similar so I enjoyed watching this film. Both films deal with taboo subjects. Surreal films are my all-time favorite. I  love watching an artist make a piece of work that is not necessarily grounded in the story but the visuals. With surrealist films such as this, I feel it is more so based on the visual atmosphere or narrative. This film definitely fits into the artsier side of art cult film, it also reminded me of Alice in wonderland, but a lot more sinister. It also reminded me of a Jodorowsky film just how much taboo there was packed into one film. This quarantine has had me watching so many films and side note I recommend Jordorowskys Santa Sangre. One of the readings this week also noted Andrei Tarkovsky’s influence and I completely see the visual similarities. Very spacey, ethereal and atmospheric.

One reading I particularly enjoyed was The Exploitation Generation. The 1970s is one of my favorite eras in film, The reading discusses how many of the filmmakers at the time were dismissing normal themes in western culture and embracing feelings not usually talked about. Nihilism and cynicism were common themes, rebellion, sex, anger. A lot of this was a response to the world at the time, people were not happy and it is expressed via film which reflects cultural themes at the time. The happy golden years of Hollywood were over. “The filmmakers of the exploitation generation were steeped in the rebellious mores of the1960s, which celebrated sex, drugs, rock music, pop art, high camp, low culture,épater le bourgeois pranks and wholesale rejection of venerable social institutions. They found inspiration in cultural detritus and south to reclaim the motion picture past that nurtured them as youngsters, filtered through layers of nostalgia, pop-culture savvy and self-awareness.” The new generation or New Hollywood directors challenged every idea of what a popular film could be and created wonderful films. Some of these include Bonnie and Clyde 1967, Scarface 1983, The Godfather 1972 (one of my favorite scenes in movie history is the baptism/boss killing scene in this film),  Chinatown 1972 and many more. Stylistically you see this in our screening, just in a more experimental way.

This era in the film was such a reaction to the circumstances of this time. I can’t help wondering during these less than ideal times which types of films we will be watching in a few years and how they reflect the paranoia and uncertainty we are all feeling. Again, the film is a tool to study the culture and political situations at a point in history and I am excited to see what comes from our current situation.