’70s
Noah’s Barks pages covering things relating to the years 1970 to 1979, i.e. the ’70s.
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Camera Buff
Camera Buff (AKA Ametor) is a semi-autobiographical drama made by a filmmaker for a filmmaker. I am not a filmmaker and have no interest in becoming one, but I was still thoroughly engaged despite not connecting to Camera Buff on a personal level like Kieslowski’s others. Anyway, the perv-stached Jerzy Stuhr portrays Kieslowski’s own struggles… (read more)
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Star Wars
I expected to not care much for this having not grown up with it, but Star Wars deserves its enormous hype. To this day, the only other film I’ve seen with such wholly unique and original set design is Brazil. Every scene contains a plethora of new wonders, yet the script never shies away from… (read more)
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Can – “Soon Over Babaluma”
‘Soon Over Babaluma’ is a pleasant album. All the best Can albums are pleasant. But this is a more ordinary kind of pleasant. It doesn’t reach a spiritual level. (read more)
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Aguirre, the Wrath of God
The cinematography is masterful with truly blooming colors, and you’ve got a top-tier performance from Klaus Kinski backed by an unforgettable theme composed by Popol Vuh, but all of my hang-ups with Aguirre, the Wrath of God are narrative focused. The sense of humor in particular does nothing for me, and at worst it suddenly… (read more)
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Comus Retrospective
(Original publication date unknown) There are few artists as expressive as telling a story as Comus. I wrote a bit about it in my review for First Utterance, particularly for their song “Diana,” but it’s true for their entire library (small as it is). Roger Wootton gets incredibly into the macabre stories he tells, yelping… (read more)
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Carrie
The imagery of Sissy Spacek as Carrie bug-eyed, drenched in blood as she walks through the flames is as powerful as ever. But Carrie’s tragedy is castrated by incredibly hammy performances that border on a cartoon’s depiction of high school students, as well as a lack of intensity due to the era the movie was… (read more)
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The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
The best thing that can be said about The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is that it’s identifiably “Dario Argento” despite being his debut. The gory murders still affect, his eye for framing and following a shot is already ace, and of course, it’s a murder-thriller. Hitchcockian in the best of ways. However, I find… (read more)
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Deep Red
It’s a bizarre world when Suspiria‘s more popular than Deep Red. It may not have the intoxicating visual design of Dario Argento’s more successful thriller, but Deep Red overall comes out on top by giving more attention to the thing Suspiria neglected: its script. With an immediately psychologically interesting killer (and thus interesting mystery), great… (read more)
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Mad Max
George Miller must’ve felt like he won the jackpot for making as huge a profit from something like Mad Max. It’s a miracle hit, if you ask me. To be fair, I find the dystopian settings of these late ’70s and early ’80s movies to be very cheap and dry. This is in dire need… (read more)
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Mazinger Z vs The Great General of Darkness
In this expanded, theatrical conclusion to the classic Mazinger Z TV series, Mazinger finds itself on the ropes when facing off against its greatest foe yet. Who will save the day, if Mazinger Z isn’t enough? (read more)