Month: November 2013

The Maltese Falcon sells at auction; dreams made of $4 million

Dorothy’s red slippers. Rosebud. The One Ring. Wilson. Certain film props have become so iconic that they are beyond any sensible or estimable value. These objects have become part of our cultural history. How much worth can you assign to something as storied as the wood chipper from Fargo or Butch’s gold watch in Pulp … Continue reading “The Maltese Falcon sells at auction; dreams made of $4 million”

Dorothy’s red slippers. Rosebud. The One Ring. Wilson. Certain film props have become so iconic that they are beyond any sensible or estimable value. These objects have become part of our cultural history. How much worth can you assign to something as storied as the wood chipper from Fargo or Butch’s gold watch in Pulp Fiction?

As it ends up, you can assign a lot of value to these things. The eponymous Maltese Falcon from The Maltese Falcon was auctioned for a whopping $4 million yesterday, making it perhaps the most expensive non-automotive item of film memorabilia ever sold. It’s a shocking number, but it shows the weight and meaning that we attach to films. Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre have long been dead, but the Maltese Falcon will live on as a physical attachment to an indelible cultural work.

Would you pay $4 million for a connection to a great classic film?

If you don’t feel like dropping that much on the statue, you can always just borrow our copy of the movie from the AU Library (HU DVD 130) .

This Thanksgiving, avoid these insane television recipes

With Thanksgiving only a week away, we’re quickly approaching perhaps the single most gluttonous  month of the year. We’ll take any opportunity to fill ourselves up with delicious food, but the stretch from now until to the end of the calendar year will be particularly hazardous for our health. We’re not explicitly going to recommend … Continue reading “This Thanksgiving, avoid these insane television recipes”

With Thanksgiving only a week away, we’re quickly approaching perhaps the single most gluttonous  month of the year. We’ll take any opportunity to fill ourselves up with delicious food, but the stretch from now until to the end of the calendar year will be particularly hazardous for our health.

We’re not explicitly going to recommend that you eat anything too unhealthy, but if you do, you might consider taking a page from the amazing TV Gourmet series from Uproxx. The brave and entrepreneurial souls behind TV Gourmet have committed to creating and ingesting some of the most unusual and disgusting foods ever portrayed in media, from Milk Steak (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and the Mayonegg (Arrested Development) to the disgusting slurry Bill drinks on Freaks and Geeks. Some are simply endurance tests, like Homer Simpson’s midnight snack of 64 slices of American cheese.

These are really not quality foods, but you have to admire the tenacity of the writers. I can’t say anyone on this staff would ever try Cheesy Blasters, but we can eat vicariously through Uproxx’s apparently cast-iron stomachs.

New software quickly pieces together (ridiculous) movies

Given the immense volume of quickly-created content on the Internet – automatically generated music, 3D printed combs, etc. – it’s surprising that it took so long for someone to come up with a fast movie creator. Plotagon, currently in beta, is a new free service that allows users to assemble clips in a traditional screenplay … Continue reading “New software quickly pieces together (ridiculous) movies”

Given the immense volume of quickly-created content on the Internet – automatically generated music, 3D printed combs, etc. – it’s surprising that it took so long for someone to come up with a fast movie creator. Plotagon, currently in beta, is a new free service that allows users to assemble clips in a traditional screenplay format. Just specific the scene, characters, and their actions, and the program will produce an adequately-directed short film. It’s reminiscent of XtraNormal, the skit-creating software that was discontinued in October, but its option to export movies in screenplay format is decidedly film-focused.

It’s… not great right now. Everything is really stilted and there’s only a small selection of content to choose from. It’s like watching an old Nintendo 64 game. In any event, there’s something fun about making a slapdash film in 30 seconds. This isn’t the future of filmmaking, but it’s an interesting starting point for rapidly prototyping movies. The company promises continued support for the software, including future content packs that you can purchase for $10 a piece.

Included below is a sample movie. It’s pretty heinous, but you get the idea.

What was the deal with Gettysburg? Watch this video for a refresher

Because of all the inevitable “fourscore” jokes today, you may be aware that November 19, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln’s address at the Gettysburg memorial at the height of the Civil War is among the most significant and quotable (and shortest) in American history. But despite its immense historical … Continue reading “What was the deal with Gettysburg? Watch this video for a refresher”

Because of all the inevitable “fourscore” jokes today, you may be aware that November 19, 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln’s address at the Gettysburg memorial at the height of the Civil War is among the most significant and quotable (and shortest) in American history. But despite its immense historical significance, it can often be easy to forget the context of the speech and the reasons why Lincoln’s words continue to resonate.

To this end, we humbly offer access to Lincoln and Gettysburg, a documentary about the history of Gettysburg and the historical situation in which Lincoln delivers his memorializing speech. At 48 minutes, it’s a breezy watch that anyone forgetting the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg would do well to watch.

Lincoln and Gettysburg is available to watch online via the AU Library. To view this video, you will need to log in using your WRLC Account.

Coen brothers fan? See Inside Llewyn Davis THIS THURSDAY!

Whoa! We get a lot of movie passes, but this one is especially cool. Inside Llewyn Davis, the next film from the legendary Coen brothers, is playing this Thursday at 7pm in Friendship Heights, and we have passes! This is a big movie with high award prospects, and we’re excited that our friends and customers … Continue reading “Coen brothers fan? See Inside Llewyn Davis THIS THURSDAY!”

Whoa! We get a lot of movie passes, but this one is especially cool. Inside Llewyn Davis, the next film from the legendary Coen brothers, is playing this Thursday at 7pm in Friendship Heights, and we have passes! This is a big movie with high award prospects, and we’re excited that our friends and customers will have a chance to see the film weeks before it formally hits theaters.

This time around, we’re able to distribute these passes online! Visit this website to claim and print your passes for the movie.

As with all advance screenings, a pass does not guarantee that you’ll get in. You’ll still have to show up early and wait in line to ensure that you get a seat.

If you aren’t able to print out a pass, we still have plenty that you can pick up in-person too.

We’re very excited about this one! The Coen brothers have a great track record, and we can’t wait to see if this movie lives up to the hype. See you Thursday!

UPDATE: Looks like we’re out of online passes. You can still claim them in person!

We love our new equipment! (And it needs a name)

This might not be the most exciting news for people outside the library community, but it’s big for us: we’ve officially upgraded our checkout equipment! The guy pictured above is the Mediacheck Model 325. It’s faster and more reliable than the equipment we’ve previously used. It won’t make too much of a difference on the … Continue reading “We love our new equipment! (And it needs a name)”

This might not be the most exciting news for people outside the library community, but it’s big for us: we’ve officially upgraded our checkout equipment!

The guy pictured above is the Mediacheck Model 325. It’s faster and more reliable than the equipment we’ve previously used. It won’t make too much of a difference on the user’s end, but it’s a big step up for us.

If you can think of a great name for these things, please let us know! One member of our staff suggests Domokun, and that’s a hard one to beat.

The last DVD checked out from a Blockbuster is appropriate, sad

Last week, home video mainstay Blockbuster announced the closure of its last remaining stores, effectively ending what was only a decade earlier a vertiable empire of film distribution. This is no surprise, especially for those in the DC area (the closest Blockbuster is nearly 30 miles away). Decades later, no one will likely lament the … Continue reading “The last DVD checked out from a Blockbuster is appropriate, sad”

Last week, home video mainstay Blockbuster announced the closure of its last remaining stores, effectively ending what was only a decade earlier a vertiable empire of film distribution. This is no surprise, especially for those in the DC area (the closest Blockbuster is nearly 30 miles away). Decades later, no one will likely lament the death of Blockbuster at the hands of Internet services, but it’s nonetheless a little sad for old-timers to see this era coming to an end. Where else will we get the personal, possibly-substance-enhanced movie recommendations from the guy at the checkout?

As a fitting end to the Blockbuster retail dynasty, the company announced that their final DVD rental was a copy of This is the End. Hold back your tears, folks. After years of accidentally renting Transmorphers from the store shelves and kindly rewinding VHS tapes, this seems like an appropriate send-off.

This isn’t to suggest that DVDs and Blu-rays are going anywhere in the long-term. In any event, take a moment to remember the first time you stepped foot in a rental store and how far technology has come since then

New Acquisitions – November 2013

Boy, has it been a busy month. We’re in the process of acquiring DVD copies of films only previously available as VHSes in our collection. While we probably won’t be buying Celebrity Deathmatch or Dance Workout with Barbie again, we’re hope you enjoy our expanding collection of old and forgotten gems. But we certaintly didn’t … Continue reading “New Acquisitions – November 2013”

Boy, has it been a busy month. We’re in the process of acquiring DVD copies of films only previously available as VHSes in our collection. While we probably won’t be buying Celebrity Deathmatch or Dance Workout with Barbie again, we’re hope you enjoy our expanding collection of old and forgotten gems.

But we certaintly didn’t forget to get new titles either! Our most recent additions include Academy-Award nominees Wreck-It Ralph and The Impossible, crowdpleaser Star Trek Into Darkness, conspiracy documentary Room 237, new films from notable directors like Joss Whedon and Steven Soderbergh, and acclaimed television shows like Luck and The Thick of It. We love it. We love it more than sharks love blood.

Read on for a full list…

Home Use Collection:

Dishonored – HU DVD 761
Caged – HU DVD 764
Wreck-It Ralph – HU DVD 766
Cloverfield – HU DVD 767
The Other Side of Sunday – HU DVD 768
The Big Parade – HU DVD 2682
Absolute Power – HU DVD 2689
The Impossible – HU DVD 2690
In the City of Sylvia – HU DVD 2693
Brassed Off! – HU DVD 2694
Outlawed in Pakistan – HU DVD 2698
Rape in the Fields – HU DVD 2966
Cliffhanger – HU DVD 2967
The Life and Times of Allen Ginsberg – HU DVD 2969
Big Man Japan – HU DVD 2970
The Nutty Professor – HU DVD 3552
Philip Roth Unmasked – HU DVD 3971
Two Lovers – HU DVD 3972
Side Effects – HU DVD 3973
An Angel at My Table – HU DVD 3974
King of Devil’s Island – HU DVD 3975
Kamal Amrohi’s Razia Sultan – HU DVD 3976
Latino Americans – HU DVD 3979
Koch – HU DVD 3981
Married to the Mob – HU DVD 4601
Phaedra – HU DVD 4602
Opera Jawa – HU DVD 4603
Push – HU DVD 4604
Salt – HU DVD 4605
Rosetta – HU DVD 4609
Post Tenebras Lux – HU DVD 4611
Horse Thief – HU DVD 4612
I Want to Live! – HU DVD 4613
Gangster No. 1 – HU DVD 4615
Orphans – HU DVD 4616
Late Night Shopping – HU DVD 4617
Momma’s Man – HU DVD 4618
In the Bedroom – HU DVD 4619
Paradise: Love – HU DVD 4621
42 – HU DVD 4622
42 – HU BLU 4622
Stories We Tell – HU DVD 4623
Lucky Number Slevin – HU DVD 4624
Something in the Air – HU DVD 4625
Room 237 – HU DVD 4626
Mother – HU DVD 4627
Not Fade Away – HU DVD 4821
Coach Carter – HU DVD 4822
Blood Work – HU DVD 4823
Dark Girls – HU DVD 4824
My Joy – HU DVD 4825
Footnote – HU DVD 4826
Young & Restless in China – HU DVD 4918
The Eagle – HU DVD 5081
The Cycle – HU DVD 5082
Mahanagar = The Big City – HU DVD 5083
Up the Yangtze – HU DVD 5086
The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection – HU DVD 5466
The Curtis Harrington Short Film Collection – HU BLU 5466
The Return of the Living Dead – HU DVD 6061
The Life of Oharu – HU DVD 6062
A Hijacking – HU DVD 6065
Fatherland – HU DVD 6807
The Plow That Broke the Plains – HU DVD 6810
Upstream Color – HU DVD 6816
Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors – HU DVD 6819
A Fierce Green Fire – HU DVD 6822
Mirush – HU DVD 6823
The River Ran Red – HU DVD 6824
Andaz – HU DVD 6825
A Brief Vacation – HU DVD 6827
BlueJuice – HU DVD 6828
Kárhozat – HU DVD 6829
Christopher Strong – HU DVD 6830
Star Trek Into Darkness – HU DVD 7085
Star Trek Into Darkness – HU BLU 7085
The Prize – HU DVD 7591
The Spirit of ’45 – HU DVD 7594
The Bling Ring – HU DVD 7641
Light Sleeper – HU DVD 7642
Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary – HU DVD 7643
Much Ado About Nothing – HU DVD 7791
One Thousand Pictures: R.F.K.’s Last Journey – HU DVD 7792
Mister Foe – HU DVD 7793
Our Beloved Month of August – HU DVD 7795
An American Tail – HU DVD 7796
My Brother the Devil – HU DVD 7981
The Enforcer – HU DVD 7982
Tarzan – HU DVD 7984
The Emperor’s New Groove – HU DVD 7985
The Secret World of Arrietty – HU DVD 7986
Thief – HU DVD 7987
Personal Belongings – HU DVD 8052
Nicholas and Alexandra – HU DVD 8053
Set It Off – HU DVD 8055
Tatsumi – HU DVD 8056
Tara Road – HU DVD 8057
Still Life – HU DVD 8058
Young Adam – HU DVD 8059
The Richard Pryor Show – HU DVD 8060
The Escapist – HU DVD 8061
Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 1 – HU DVD 8062
Betty Boop: The Essential Collection, Volume 2  – HU DVD 8063
Bataan / Back to Bataan – HU DVD 8064
War & Peace – HU DVD 8065
An American Werewolf in Paris – HU DVD 8066
Cobra Verde – HU DVD 8073
Last Train Home – HU DVD 8117
I Can’t Sleep – HU DVD 8172
The Girl in Room 20 / Son of Ingagi / The Girl from Chicago / Lying Lips – HU DVD 8174
Cold Comfort Farm – HU DVD 8175
G Men – HU DVD 8371
Desperately Seeking Susan – HU DVD 8372
Early Summer – HU DVD 8373
Divided We Fall – HU DVD 8374
Green Card – HU DVD 8375
Dark Waters – HU DVD 8376
Billy Budd – HU DVD 8377
Desk Set – HU DVD 8378
Chaplin’s Essanay Comedies – HU DVD 8501
The Chaplin Mutuals – HU DVD 8502
Chaplin’s Goliath – HU DVD 8503
The World – HU DVD 8574
The Turandot Project – HU DVD 8575
China Heavyweight – HU DVD 8576
Beaumarchais l’insolent – HU DVD 8911
Jewel Thief – HU DVD 8915
Brain Games – HU DVD 9124
I Will Buy You – HU DVD 9934
The Inheritance – HU DVD 9936
The Thick-Walled Room – HU DVD 9937
Love it Colder than Death – HU DVD 9938
Katzelmacher – HU DVD 9939
Gods of the Plague – HU DVD 9940
The American Soldier – HU DVD 9941
Beware of a Holy Whore – HU DVD 9942

Television:

The Hour, Season 1 – HU DVD 2697
The Thick of It, Season 1 – HU DVD 2961
The Thick of It, Season 2 – HU DVD 2962
The Thick of It, The Specials – HU DVD 2963
The Thick of It, Season 3 – HU DVD 2964
The Thick of It, Season 4 – HU DVD 2965
Homeland, Season 2 – HU DVD 10349
The Walking Dead, Season 3 – HU DVD 14095
Trigun, The Complete Series – HU DVD 14096
Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Season 1 – HU DVD 14097
Luck, Season 1 – HU DVD 14098
House of Cards, Season 1 – HU DVD 14099

In-Library Titles:

The Human Body Series: Digestive System – DVD 762
Freeze, Die, Come to Life – DVD 763
El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba – DVD 769
The Yellow Wallpaper – DVD 770
Chicano: Quest for a Homeland – DVD 771
Something Like a War – DVD 2683
The Peacekeepers and the Women – DVD 2684
Knowing Her Place – DVD 2685
Japanese American Women – DVD 2686
Dialogues with Madwomen – DVD 2687
How Nice to See You Alive – DVD 2688
Regopstaan’s Dream – DVD 2691
The Killing of Chico Mendes – DVD 2692
Rites of Passage – DVD 2695
Health Care: Your Money or Your Life – DVD 2696
Gold Fever – DVD 2968
Fake Orgasm – DVD 3906
On Coal River – DVD 4606
Baked Alaska – DVD 4607
In Whose Interest? – DVD 4608
Maria in Nobody’s Land – DVD 4620
The Carbon Rush – DVD 6063
Beau Travail – DVD 6826
Los Rubios = The Blonds – DVD 7592
Four Generations – DVD 7593
Things I Left in Havana – DVD 8051
Personal Belongings – DVD 8052
Precious Language – DVD 8054
The World – DVD 8574
Go Public – DVD 8907
A League of Their Own – VHS 8051

What a twist! M. Night Shyamalan is at Politics & Prose TONIGHT!

Drop your evening plans! Notable director M. Night Shyamalan will be visiting Politics & Prose tonight at 7pm! Though certainly a controversial and often derided figure in the film world, Shyamalan’s rise to fame is a fascinating tale; appropriately, he comes to Politics & Prose to discuss his experience in the education system and the … Continue reading “What a twist! M. Night Shyamalan is at Politics & Prose TONIGHT!”

Drop your evening plans! Notable director M. Night Shyamalan will be visiting Politics & Prose tonight at 7pm! Though certainly a controversial and often derided figure in the film world, Shyamalan’s rise to fame is a fascinating tale; appropriately, he comes to Politics & Prose to discuss his experience in the education system and the achievement gap with political commentator Chris Matthews.

M. Night Shayamalan will be autographing copies of his book that are purchased at the store. Various other stipulations about the visit (photographs, etc.) are included on the website.

Living in DC leads to all sorts of exciting encounters with political notables, but rarely Hollywood types too! What a twist!

Is it time to leave “cinematic” behind?

Film culture has created an aura around the term “cinematic.” A piece of media described as “cinematic” carries with it certain qualities – pace, staging, cinematography, and weight – that are typically seen as ideal or enviable. But as digital distribution democratizes film and television, should directors still chase the same feeling as the cinema? … Continue reading “Is it time to leave “cinematic” behind?”

Film culture has created an aura around the term “cinematic.” A piece of media described as “cinematic” carries with it certain qualities – pace, staging, cinematography, and weight – that are typically seen as ideal or enviable. But as digital distribution democratizes film and television, should directors still chase the same feeling as the cinema?

Ben Sachs of Chicago Reader offers an alternative: maybe television shouldn’t strive to be “cinematic.” Though admittedly not a big fan of television, Sachs finds shows like Breaking Bad closer to a novel than a film. Television shows, he says, offer a more cerebral, slow-burn format that is friendlier to consumption on tablets and phones. Sachs argues that without the need for home-theater-ready image and sound mixing, television shows can develop their own feel independent of traditionally “cinematic” style.

It’s not difficult to imagine that the explosion of quality television will eventually result in creative types abandoning the pursuit of a “cinematic” ideal in search of something new. As digital media opens new platforms of creative expression, it will be harder to uphold any stylistic mode as the best.