Jack Palance (1919 – 2006)

Jack Palance (Vladimir Palanuik/Walter Jack Palance), one of my favorite actors, died today at the age of 87. All Jess Franco watchers will immediately recall his off the wall meanderings as Brother Antonin in Justine (1968), a role Franco said Palance played while under the influence. Given his lack of respect for his own European career, he fiercely denied his numerous Spaghetti western appearances when confronted about them in his later years, he was a steadfast professional. The Oscar and Emmy award winning actor was one of the great screen “heavies” in George Stevens’ SHANE, among others. He recently auctioned off his movie memorabilia. Offscreen he was a landscape painter, who inscribed his canvases with poetry. Palance claimed he never watched the films he appeared in. — I’M IN A JESS FRANCO STATE OF MIND

Palance came to the attention of many arthouse fans in 1988 with the film Bagdad Cafe in which he shines as an artist who wants to capture on canvas the beauty he perceives in the rotund Sägebrecht.

Baudelaire’s World (2002) – Rosemary Lloyd

Baudelaire’s World (2002) – Rosemary Lloyd
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Charles Baudelaire is often regarded as the founder of modernist poetry. Written with clarity and verve, Baudelaire’s World provides English – language readers with the biographical, historical, and cultural contexts that will lead to a fuller understanding and enjoyment of the great French poet’s work. –from the publisher

Though it is often said Charles Baudelaire published only a single volume of poetry, The Flowers of Evil, this is untrue if you count his published prose poetry such as Spleen de Paris.

See also: Charles Baudelaire – modernist poetry

Jess Franco

The blog ‘Groovy Age of Horror’ presents I’m in a Jess Franco state of mind, a blog by Robert Monell on the films of Jess Franco. Robert Monell is a connoisseur of Jess Franco (who I like to call the European Roger Corman) and “Euro trash”  cinema in general. He is part of the vibrant internet community called Euro Trash Paradise, which can be a viewed as a continuation of the magazine Euro Trash cinema.

European trash cinema has als had its share of academic attention, perhaps most notably in the work of Joan Hawkins with titles such as Sleaze Mania, Euro-trash, and High Art (1999). 

Arthur Russell documentary

Arthur Russell documentary ( watch the trailer )

some more insightful Arthur Russell LINKs :

Nick The Record ( DJ Friendly Records) features
Steven Hall’s reminiscences
collaboration with Allen Ginsberg 

Tim Lawrence ( author of ” Love Saves The Day ” )
is plannin’ to publish Arthur’s biography.

WFMU Arthur Russell special ( listen )

tracklisting :

Dinosaur / Kiss Me Again
The Necessaries / More Real
Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay, The Edge / Hold On To Your Dreams
Arthur Russell / Losing My Taste For the Night Life

Nicki Siano / Move
Peter Zummo / Unisons
Jerry Harrison: Casual Gods / The Doctors Lie
Mimi / Time to Go Home Now
Indian Ocean / Treehouse/School Bell pt. 1

Arthur Russell / Wax the Van
Gary Lucas / Let’s Go Swimming
Allen Ginsberg / Voice of the Bard
Jill Kroesen / Fay Shism Blues
Loose Joints / Tell You (Today)

Via  SpiritualBolshevik

See also:  Arthur Russell

Black Hole (2005) – Charles Burns

Black Hole (2005) – Charles Burns
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]

Charles Burns (born September 27, 1955) is an award-winning U.S. cartoonist and illustrator. He is renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories. —http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles Burns [Nov 2006]

His work is similar to fellow Fantagraphics artist Daniel Clowes (Ghost World).

Charles Burns Google gallery

See also: graphic novel – the new flesh – illustration

There can be no fictional narrative of Auschwitz

It has often been said that the unique nature of the Holocaust “challenges our imagination with a nearly impossible task” (Lawrence Langer). “There can be no fictional narrative of Auschwitz,” Maurice Blanchot asserted. And Adorno: “After Auschwitz there is no word tinged from on high, not even a theological one, that has any right unless it underwent a transformation.” I believe that these words — these transformed fictional narratives — exist, and that they already existed before Auschwitz. Artaud hallucinating his own death or Bataille his own dismemberment, Simone Weil embracing the abjection of assembly line work or Céline carried away by an insane racist rage — these writers were not acting on their own either. By making the unimaginable their very subject, these artists provided us with that fraction of truth which scholars of the Holocaust are vainly seeking. — Sylvère Lotringer, The Art of Evil in FAT Magazine, Vol. 1 No. 1, 1994, 1995 via http://www.thing.net/~fat/vol1no1/sylvere.htm

Sylvère Lotringer is professor of French literature and philosophy at Columbia University and general editor of Semiotext(e). He frequently lectures on art.

See also: the Holocaust in art and fiction

New issues at Senses of Cinema and Bright Lights Film Journal

An unfortunate collusion of diversions and duties precludes the usual thorough reading (notice I didn’t type “in depth”; simply “thorough”) of new issues of two of the most important online publications on film out there, Bright Lights Film Journal and Senses of Cinema. —Greencine

Of these two Bright Lights has always been my favourite because of their queer sensibility which I find somewhat lacking at Senses of Cinema (although I must credit their Jack Sargeant article on Je t’aime moi non plus). Bright Lights features an interview with Camille Paglia and a special on cult films centered around Barbara Steele (my fave cult actress.)