Videodrome, 1983, rated R, 90mins, 35mm archival print, 7pm Jan 25th at the Bytowne Cinema
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Anyone familiar with pioneering Toronto television station City-TV, particularly its daring, fly-by-the-seat-of-its-pants incarnation in the 1970’s and 80’s, will recognize the inspiration for the fictional CIVIC-TV station in David Cronenberg’s Videodrome. CIVIC is where Max Renn (James Woods) works as a producer seeking out the most provocative programming to drive up the ratings, always keeping an eye on finding the next big thing to scoop the competition. It’s this search that leads Renn to uncover an international conspiracy involving a mind- and flesh- altering signal hidden within violent images originating from the United States.
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Videodrome still has the power to provoke philosophical reflection and disturb in equal measure nearly thirty years since its release. Like many of Cronenberg’s early films, it’s constructed around tropes of out-of-control technology, physical mutation, and sex and violence as social contagion. It’s the triumphant culmination of the first phase of his career, blending elements of science fiction, horror, and film noir in a deftly executed mix of genres. It’s noteworthy for being the first film where he started getting respect as a filmmaker of real intellectual substance, and not just a shockmeister intent on delivering cheap gory thrills.
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For Canadian viewers, the fact that the film is set largely in an identifiable Toronto, and makes such great use of uber-Canuck references like Moses Znaimer and Marshall McLuhan, makes it all the more fun. Oscar-winner James Woods, always an interesting actor, makes for a compellingly flawed anti-hero, and he shares the screen with a cadre of fine supporting players, including rock star Deborah Harry, Sonja Smits (CBC’s ‘Street Legal’) and the perfectly-cast Jack Creley (Dr. Strangelove and TVO’s ‘Write On!’), who plays the McLuhanesque video-theorist Dr. Brian O’Blivion. To that we say: Long live the New Flesh!
cinema
Photo courtesy pheaber on Flickr.
This post originally appeared on OpenFile Ottawa on December 29, 2011 and is re-printed with their permission.
Last week’s news that a fully licensed movie theatre could be part of the Lansdowne Park redevelopment was quite the conversation starter. On Twitter, multiple people pointed out that the cinephiles at Ottawa’s Mayfair Theatre had already tried improving the cinematic experience by serving alcohol. And that piqued our curiosity.
We had a brief chat with Lee Demarbre, the indie theatre’s co-owner. Demarbre didn’t just talk about how a licensed theatre—particularly one that offers more intellectual fare than your average blockbuster—can make for a more sophisticated night at the movies. He also revealed that the Mayfair had applied for a permanent license themselves, but got a blunt rejection from the city.
Feel free to read the transcribed interview below (edited slightly for clarity) or click on the embedded audio file.
OpenFile: How has the Mayfair tried to combine alcohol with the film-going experience?
Lee: The idea was to get a liquor license, sort of like the Alamo Drafthouse out of Texas. I’ve been to the Alamo Drafthouse a few times and loved the atmosphere. It’s not about getting drunk or anything like that. It’s a sophisticated way of watching a film, and you know, offering the customer they can’t get at another cinema in Ottawa.
So on a few occasions, we’ve taken out a temporary license, time to time, when we’ve had big shows. When we thought we’ll attract people who’ll be interested in having a beverage during the show. The LCBO offers temporary, nightly liquor licenses. So we’ve done that, maybe two or three times throughout the year.
We’ve since applied for a permanent liquor license with the city, and got a flat no. Without a reason. We just got a no from the city. Now we understand that the new Empire Theatres going in across the street from the Mayfair at Lansdowne will have a liquor license. So I think I know why I got my no. (Laughs)
Photo courtesy S.L.M. from the Apartment613 Flickr pool.
You’ve made it, Ottawa, to the grand old year of 2012. Let’s kick start it with a few great shows to get us pumped for what the year’s going to bring…
Tonight Sonic Defense gets off on a good foot with a new album release and party at the Elmdale, while across Centretown the self-described ‘biggest, baddest, drunkest, punkest folkcore’ Dreadnoughts will take the stage at Mavericks. Friday, catch the electro-dance spinnings of Andy’s iLL at Ritual or the poppy sounds of Swaying Tuesdays and the mellow tunes of For the Birds at The Rainbow. The Black Sheep kicks January off with local roots artist Brock Zeman putting on two shows Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the launch of his 9th album. Irene’s has a lot going on with an acoustic soiree featuring Amanda Bon and music collective Abstract on Friday, and Ken Workman and the Union‘s alt-country sounds will be heard there Saturday night. Also that night? Phil Motion and the Easy LO-FI will be groovin’ at the Elmdale with the Marlow Beat Kings.
If you’ve got New Year’s resolutions to get started on, use this weekend as an excuse to complete a few. Is sledding down Ottawa’s highest toboggan hill one of them? You’re all set. Becoming coordinated by taking fancy dance classes? Done and done. Improving your singing voice and knowledge of 90s classics lyrics? No problem.
Click to continue reading “Weekend roundup: What to do in Ottawa”
On Friday, January 13th, SAW Video is hosting its first event of 2012, RESOLUTION, an annual screening of new work. There’s something for everyone in this year’s showcase of new short works by SAW members.
Dance and performance are highlighted in two videos: Izabel Barsive’s Patsy, which uses dance to express one woman’s troubled inner struggle with alcoholism and age, and Tim Smith’s Wander, in which choreographer Robert John van der Dolder performs a unique dance through the haunting ruins of an abandoned hospital in Germany. Both Ian Roy’s This is a Story by Ian Roy and Lesley Marshall’s + (aka. Crossroad) take an innovative approach to storytelling, pushing the limits of narrative through post-modern self-awareness and mind-bending twists in time.
The screening also highlights Ottawa’s talented experimental videomakers. Local performance art-star Theo Pelmus’ video I Don’t’ Know Why… uses a plastic Pinocchio doll as a starting point for questioning what makes us human; Gail Bourgeois, branches out from visual art into video with Uncanny Summer Sun, a piece about the deceptive nature of memory. John Graham’s Move shows the influence of experimental cinema in its surreal depiction of the dream life of a coma patient, portrayed through visually striking stop-motion animation.
Documentary production is also showcased via Howard Adler’s Rally for Awareness, which turns a compassionate eye to the problem of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. Craig Conoley’s Poetry in Motion, takes a spoken-word performance by poet Brandon Wint and transforms it into a potent metaphor for urban life through a powerful split-screen technique.
A short Q&A will follow the screening.
Divergence Movie Night presents “Punch Like a Girl”
Captures the burgeoning popularity of women’s boxing, a sport on the rise at both the amateur and professional levels. Taking viewers inside the world of women’s amateur boxing in Toronto, the program follows several women who throw themselves into the sport in a quest to discover the limits of their physical and emotional strength. Through the eyes of the subjects, viewers discover the sport’s mythic appeal and vicariously experience its thrills.
62 minutes
8pm at Shanghai Restaurant, 651 Somerset St West
Free admission, $5-$10 suggested donation.
More info : http://divergencemovienight.
Photo courtesy Justin Van Leeuwen from the Apartment613 Flickr Pool.
It’s cold out, the nights are long, and all of the squirrels and bears have disappeared for a winter’s sleep. Here at Apartment613 we’re going to go into hibernation mode, too, for a week or so – we’ll post sporadically, when one of us gets a sudden burst of energy after eating too many sugar cookies, but mostly we’ll be taking a break. We’ll be back again in the New Year with a bit of a new look – we thought we’d start 2012 off by trying on a new style, just to see how it suits us.
In the meantime, though, let’s roundup this weekend! The pickings are a little slim, but they’re good ones. And if you’re near the radio this afternoon, tune into CHUO for our Apartment613 Live show, wherein all of us editors talk about our favourite picks of the year. Hosts Ryan and Trevor will get things underway at 4pm over at 89.1 on your FM dial and online over here.
Onto the happenings: DJ Illo and Jon Deck will be hosting the Higher Ground Christmas Party at Babylon tonight, while Krom, Matt Tablyn and Sir Ett drop their beats down at Ritual. For you musicians who are itching to get into SXSW, head over to Raw Sugar this evening (but RSVP before doing so!) to have all of those secrets demystified by some of Ottawa’s in-the-know music folk. Friday night down at Greenfield’s you’ll find The Love Machine playing their Annual Holiday Hometown Party with Amos the Transparent stopping by to rock out a few tunes. Out at the Black Sheep, Honeyman and the Brothers Farr will play on Friday, along with Caroline Keating. Babylon is throwing yet another holiday bash Friday, but this one’s a bit more rock ‘n’ roll, featuring Silkenn Laumann, Uranium Comeback and Male Nurse Band (which is apparently comprised of members/ex-members from every band in town).
Things slow down Saturday and Sunday, but we’re back with more music and dancing on Monday with not one, but two shows at Ritual. The first one features USS, Fire and Neon and Zoo Legacy, for a little bit of an indie/electro/hiphop mashup. Later, there’s an all-star DJ line up with four turntables and four talented DJs who will spin the night away. Babylon is having their annual Boxing Day shindig with a little Disorganized reunion.
For those of you who will need a break from too much family, food and hullabaloo, escape to the ByTowne or the Mayfair (on Bank or out in Orleans) to catch a flick or two.
Click to continue reading “Weekend roundup: Holiday edition”
“Why have a scene when you can have a community?” is a tagline that will be put to test with the OIFF’s Spotlight Series event happening tonight at Mercury Lounge. The “Ottawa Rock Lottery” documentary, shot by local filmmakers The Indefinite Project, will premiere.
The documentary follows the behind-the-scenes creation of a full band and full original music set in just a 24 hour period. It includes some rare glimpses into Ottawa’s best musicians’ jam spaces and artistic process, plus some hilarious candid moments in the bonding process. And keeping with the holiday season, all proceeds of the DVD sales will be going to the Ottawa Food Bank!
CBC Radio One’s Alan Neal will host the event, with indie-rockers Amos the Transparent opening with a special acoustic performance and big screen debuts of music videos from Kalle Mattson and The Goodluck Assembly.
Click to continue reading “Ottawa Rock Lottery documentary premiere tonight”
Ottawa Explosion and Invisible Cinema presents…
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KILL ALL REDNECK PRICKS!: A Documentary Film About A Band Named KARP (http://www.karplives.com/)
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2011 / USA / 89 min / Blu-ray
Director: William E. Badgley Featuring: KARP, Kathleen Hannah, King Buzzo, Calvin Johnson, Kimya Dawson
Print Source: William E. Badgley
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We are proud to present the Ottawa premiere of this documentary. An epic story of the rise and fall of the most hormonally overloaded band of punk-metal geeks to ever emerge from the mossy woods of Thurston County, Kill All Redneck Pricks takes you from the high school corridors and soggy chicken coops of Tumwater, WA, to the dizzying heights of punk rock stardom, only to make a shockingly painful crash landing. The players are real, and the stakes are life, death, and the inspired dreams of youth. King Buzzo, Justin Trosper, Kathleen Hanna, Kimya Dawson, and Calvin Johnson are just a few of the legion of friends and heroes that narrate the history and comic brutality of KARP. This is a vital story of the Pacific Northwest, loud music, and fragile humanity.
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William Badgley will be in attendence.
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Guest Bio
William E. Badgley
William E. Badgley is a producer of film and television who lives and works in New York City. He has been active in art and music throughout his adult lifetime, fronting the Northwest garage band Federation X since 1998. Kill All Redneck Pricks: A Documentary Film about a Band Called KARP is his first film.
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INVISIBLE CINEMA
319 LISGAR ST.
It’s Friday afternoon, winter’s here, you’re counting the seconds until you can leave your desk… why not treat yourself to a little video break?
The 8th edition of the Digi60 Festival – Ottawa’s annual digital short film festival – wrapped up last week. Digi60 asks local filmmakers to come up with original, thought-provoking short film in as little as 60 days. In addition, the films have to incorporate a little curveball that the festival organizers throw at them. This year, the catch was passion. Those competing in the Documentary Stream had to involve a passion, while those in the Scripted Stream had to include a passionate kiss that affects their character.
The video presented above is this year’s winner of the Scripted Stream, and by winner we mean that the film took the Best Picture, Best Writing (Mike Horrigan ), Best Director (Jeremy Kennedy), and Best Actor (Aphra Williams) categories. An excerpt of a text by screenwriter Mike Horrigan descirbing the film’s insparation and developement is included after the break. Thanks to Treepot Media, who played a role in developing the film, for letting us know about it and for passing along Mike’s description. Be sure to check out the other Digi60 films here.
Click to continue reading “Moments sweeps the Digi60 Festival”
