Okay, it's about time to do another entry...I said a bit more about Jarmisch in the last entry (go look if ya want) but now I will talk about rewatching EL TOPO.
The Holy Mountain has basically become my favorite movie ever. The imagery is infriggincredible. I hadn't remembered much about El Topo, the preceding film by Alexandro Jodorowsky, which I saw years ago. I watched it again last night, so that I could read and return a library book I had out in which Alexandro "talks up" the movie.
Some quotes from the book:
"When you live the picture, when you are not acting, there is no dichotomy...no alienation. What you are doing is real. Becasue I think that if you want a picture to change the world, you must first change the actors in the picture. And before doing that, you must change yourself. Right? This must be done. With every new picture, I must change myself, I must kill myself, and I must be born. I must kill the actors and they must be born. And then the audiences who go to the movies must be assassinated, killed, destroyed, and they must leave the theater as new people. This is a good picture."
"Some people make films like novels: Truffaut. Some make films like political essays: Godard. That's good! Some people make films like metaphysical stories: Bergman. But I want to make poems. We can make poetry-- we must make poetry."
"Everything is a symbol. The Alka Selztzer, for example, packaged in blue foil wrappers. It's a square with words printed on it. Like me. I'm a square with things printed on me; my name, whatever I think I am. But when I open the wrapper, it's silver foil on the inside: negative, water, maternal womb. And inside is a white circular form which isn't a circle. It's a Host. But this symbol, this Alka Seltzer doens't exist yet. Because it's in an evolutionary state of effervescent power. In order for the communion of the Alka Selztzer to exist, I have to put it in a glass of water. And when it enters the water, the Host doesn't disappear. It salts the water. Everything is a symbol."
So, El Topo is the story of a wanderer who is God and bum, powerful and weak, just and cruel. The story divides up into two sorts of "missions" he is on. It isn't quite the film The Holy Mountain is, but neither is anything else to me.
I also rented Dead Man which I'll watch tonight. Down By Law wasn't in the store yesterday. Ghost Dog will complete my Jarmusch trifecta sometime soon...
...in the meanwhile (plug, plug) Trash Palace video website will sell you good $15 VHS copies of Japanese laserdisc editions of El Topo and The Holy Mountain, if you care to see INTENSELY visual films. Both are out-of-print on VHS, and severely kick art-movie ass.
The Holy Mountain has basically become my favorite movie ever. The imagery is infriggincredible. I hadn't remembered much about El Topo, the preceding film by Alexandro Jodorowsky, which I saw years ago. I watched it again last night, so that I could read and return a library book I had out in which Alexandro "talks up" the movie.
Some quotes from the book:
"When you live the picture, when you are not acting, there is no dichotomy...no alienation. What you are doing is real. Becasue I think that if you want a picture to change the world, you must first change the actors in the picture. And before doing that, you must change yourself. Right? This must be done. With every new picture, I must change myself, I must kill myself, and I must be born. I must kill the actors and they must be born. And then the audiences who go to the movies must be assassinated, killed, destroyed, and they must leave the theater as new people. This is a good picture."
"Some people make films like novels: Truffaut. Some make films like political essays: Godard. That's good! Some people make films like metaphysical stories: Bergman. But I want to make poems. We can make poetry-- we must make poetry."
"Everything is a symbol. The Alka Selztzer, for example, packaged in blue foil wrappers. It's a square with words printed on it. Like me. I'm a square with things printed on me; my name, whatever I think I am. But when I open the wrapper, it's silver foil on the inside: negative, water, maternal womb. And inside is a white circular form which isn't a circle. It's a Host. But this symbol, this Alka Seltzer doens't exist yet. Because it's in an evolutionary state of effervescent power. In order for the communion of the Alka Selztzer to exist, I have to put it in a glass of water. And when it enters the water, the Host doesn't disappear. It salts the water. Everything is a symbol."
So, El Topo is the story of a wanderer who is God and bum, powerful and weak, just and cruel. The story divides up into two sorts of "missions" he is on. It isn't quite the film The Holy Mountain is, but neither is anything else to me.
I also rented Dead Man which I'll watch tonight. Down By Law wasn't in the store yesterday. Ghost Dog will complete my Jarmusch trifecta sometime soon...
...in the meanwhile (plug, plug) Trash Palace video website will sell you good $15 VHS copies of Japanese laserdisc editions of El Topo and The Holy Mountain, if you care to see INTENSELY visual films. Both are out-of-print on VHS, and severely kick art-movie ass.
VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
Also, I'm pretty sure I could get some radical cheerleaders to come up with a "YAY CHEECH" cheer.
It's possible!
Amy Sedaris is a million times hotter than Amy Poehler. But... I'm biased toward the Sedaris family.
Your comment in my journal made me feel fluffy and warm inside, but that might have something to do with eating pillows. No, seriously. It made me giggle and chuckle, and I'm a bit manic at the moment because I've had too much coffee and diet cherry cola. But... thanks.