Month: June 2016

Media Services at the Movies: Now You See Me 2

The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection. So, we have a weird relationship with Now You See Me. Years ago, we got a publicity package from the film’s producers, filled … Continue reading “Media Services at the Movies: Now You See Me 2”

The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection.

So, we have a weird relationship with Now You See Me. Years ago, we got a publicity package from the film’s producers, filled with Now You See Me shirts, hats, flashlights (?), gum (?!), and other strange branded products. Forgive us if we have a soft spot for this deeply silly movie series. It’s supposed to be about magic, but it’s closer to one of G.O.B.’s illusions.

Instead, let’s pivot to actual magic. In particular, let’s look at two films about magicians with the same name: The Illusionist. 2006’s Illusionist tells a story of romance about magician in 19th century Austria-Hungary; 2010’s Illusionist is a melancholy animated film based on a screenplay by late French filmmaker Jacques Tati.

Both are certainly sadder films, but they do a better job capturing the enchantment of illusions compared to… whatever Now You See Me is doing.

The Illusionist (2006) – HU DVD 1779
The Illusionist (2010) – HU DVD 8704

The next time you need a camera, check KitSplit

The AU Library is happy to lend out cameras, tripods, and microphones for students, staff, and faculty working on film projects, and SOC students also have the option to borrow equipment from the Media Production Center. But what happens if you graduate, or if you need something higher-end or specialized? You’d normally rent from a … Continue reading “The next time you need a camera, check KitSplit”

The AU Library is happy to lend out cameras, tripods, and microphones for students, staff, and faculty working on film projects, and SOC students also have the option to borrow equipment from the Media Production Center.

But what happens if you graduate, or if you need something higher-end or specialized? You’d normally rent from a production house, but honestly, keeping track of private rental services in the city can be difficult.

Enter KitSplit, a new site that aggregates equipment rental spots around the city. They have an extremely broad audience in mind: renters and rentees range from individuals to major corporations, and models range from the simplest up to experimental virtual reality cameras. The low-rent horror movie schlockhouse Troma Entertainment uses the service too, so if you’re looking to make a film with a low budget, KitSplit could work for you.

It’s great to see more local resources for film alumni folks. Consider swinging by the site if you need some nice and/or inexpensive equipment if the library isn’t an option.

Meet the new canon of black film

As much as we enjoy poring over lists of the best films ever made, Aisha Harris and Dan Kois make a good point over at Slate: those lists are overwhelmingly white. And when film buffs follow those recommendations in search of the great art, they’ll watch predominantly white movies. We can lose sight of contributions … Continue reading “Meet the new canon of black film”

As much as we enjoy poring over lists of the best films ever made, Aisha Harris and Dan Kois make a good point over at Slate: those lists are overwhelmingly white. And when film buffs follow those recommendations in search of the great art, they’ll watch predominantly white movies. We can lose sight of contributions to film from people of color this way.

So Harris and Kois assembled “filmmakers, critics, and scholars” the produce The Black Film Canon, a list of the fifty greatest films by black directors. Notably, this excludes a few prominent films about blackness, like Coming to America, but it reflects the talent of black filmmakers who are often overlooked in the grand assessment of film history. The list spans decades, genres, and countries, including notable African cinema. (Though we do like that Spike Lee warranted his own category.)

We embedded Slate‘s supercut of The Black Film Canon above. We have most of the movies on their list; a Pinterest board will be coming shortly, so stay tuned!

Media Services at the Movies: Popstar

The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection. Every generation gets the music mockumentary it deserves. This is Spinal Tap remains the definitive send-up of hair metal rockstar excess. Popstar: Never … Continue reading “Media Services at the Movies: Popstar”

The summer blockbuster season is here! “Media Services at the Movies” will look at what big movie is coming out this week, then offer a few movies like it from our collection.

Every generation gets the music mockumentary it deserves. This is Spinal Tap remains the definitive send-up of hair metal rockstar excess. Popstar: Never Stop Never Popping, the newest film by The Lonely Island, continues the tradition by skewering Justin Bieber, celebrity ego, and flaming out in the age of social media.

It doesn’t start or end there: you can look back to 1978’s Beatles parody All You Need is Cash or the 90s hip-hop spoof Fear of a Black Hat. When a new type of pop star emerges, the world of film has been quick to drag music culture through the mud. Popstar‘s Conner4Real is the parody we need right now, but twenty years ago, it needed Chris Rock’s CB4.

This is Spinal Tap – HU DVD 538
CB4 – HU DVD 6717
All You Need is Cash – HU DVD 10187
A Mighty Wind – HU DVD 10218
Fear of a Black Hat – HU DVD 12653

And because sometimes life imitates art, we also recommend Anvil! The Story of Anvil!, a real rock documentary so silly it may as well be a joke too (HU DVD 3461).

New Acquisitions – June 2016

There has been an acquisition. Have you felt it? (We have other things this month, too, like Out 1, a twelve-hour odyssey by recently deceased French New Wave director Jacques Rivette. Follow the link to see what else we added.) Home Use Collection: Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens – HU DVD 1647Star Wars: … Continue reading “New Acquisitions – June 2016”

There has been an acquisition.

Have you felt it?

(We have other things this month, too, like Out 1, a twelve-hour odyssey by recently deceased French New Wave director Jacques Rivette. Follow the link to see what else we added.)

Home Use Collection:

Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens – HU DVD 1647
Star Wars: Episode VII, The Force Awakens – HU BLU 1647
Leningrad Cowboys Go America – HU DVD 9907
Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses – HU DVD 9908
Total Balalaika Show – HU DVD 9909
Elephant Boy – HU DVD 9910
The Drum – HU DVD 9911
Jungle Book – HU DVD 9912
Peking Opera Blues – HU BLU 12283
The Love Light – HU DVD 13028
The Mutilator – HU DVD 13052
The Mutilator – HU BLU 13052
Masterworks of American Avante-Garde Experimental Film – HU DVD 13053
Masterworks of American Avante-Garde Experimental Film – HU BLU 13053
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie – HU DVD 13060
Bugs Bunny’s 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales – HU DVD 13061
The Wonder Years, Season 1 – HU DVD 13065
Love American Style, Season 1, Volume 1 – HU DVD 13066
The Best of the Johnny Cash TV Show, 1969-1971 – HU DVD 13068
She’s Nobody’s Baby: A History of American Women in the 20th Century – HU DVD 13084
Seeds of Freedom – HU DVD 13107
Laverne & Shirley – HU DVD 14464 – 14471

In-Library Titles:

When Abortion was Illegal – DVD 13043
Family Ties – DVD 13044
The Crisis of the Cultural Environment – DVD 13045
The Creative Spirit – DVD 13080
How to Run for Office: An Introduction to Civics, Elections and the American Political System – DVD 13082
Cell Biology: The Living Cell – DVD 13083
Roots of Resistance: The Story of the Underground Railroad – DVD 13087
Bored in Heaven – DVD 13096
Out 1: Noli me Tangere – DVD 13104
Out 1: Noli me Tangere – BLU 13104
Out 1: Spectre – DVD 13105
Out 1: Spectre – BLU 13105
The Mysteries of Paris: Jacques Rivette’s Out 1 Revisited – DVD 13106
The Mysteries of Paris: Jacques Rivette’s Out 1 Revisited – BLU 13106
The Hire: A Series of 8 Short Films – DVD 13108