Avant et Apres: Nino Ferrer

The mid-sixties yé-yé look

Disciplined Salut les Copains crowd enjoying the rave-up? Check.
Ray Davies meets Jacques Dutronc stage presence? Check.
Microphone framed by substantial sideburns of singer? Check.
Ruffled cuffs on Hammond organ? Check.
Belting out a song about pickles? Check.

The mid-seventies burnout look

Giant, foamy Civil War beard? Check.
The fashion sense of Mike Love at his most attenuated (beard-hat combo adorning gaunt skullface)? Check.
Walking around a waxy jungle diorama while ignoring a beautiful woman? Check.

Basking In Bacharach

Vedettes Sur 45

All I know is Françoise is on the charts and I think she placed ahead of 'More Zan Zis'. The year is 1982.

Hypercolour

Awesome scene from the awesome Sholay!

This scene from Mehboob Ki Mehndi is pastelrific.

Sydney Pollack - R.I.P.

This clip would be even better if it was the Sydney Pollack from Husbands and Wives or Eyes Wide Shut dressing you down for preferring to watch films that have been formatted from their original aspect ratio to fit your TV... "What the hell is the matter with you? Don't you realize you lose 50 fucking percent of the widescreen image when you watch this shit in pan and scan? You infant!"



Widescreen title sequence for Three Days of the Condor... avec Data70 et Dave Grusin.

And the master in action...


He will be missed...

Whither The Weather?

"It Even Looks Like Freedom."

Toronto Hulk

The Incredible Hulk wreaking havoc on Yonge Street, beating tanks up in front of The Big Slice and swatting shoulder-fired missiles down on the U of T campus promises to be one of the highlights of a long hot Toronto summer. My friend Dov and I thought long and hard about other amazing Toronto-centric sequences that no doubt will await us in the multiplex...

The Hulk having dinner at Cafe Diplomatico and then going to Soundscapes

The Hulk walking everywhere or on his bike wearing a helmet with wings on it

The Hulk riding a paddle boat at Ontario Place

The Hulk at H&M trying on low-waist jeans

The Hulk at the Brass Rail

The Hulk in K-Town ordering another garbage can full of kimchi

The Hulk turning Play De Record into Break De Record

The Hulk getting rejected by the NFB

The Hulk in Yorkville tickling young ladies passing by with tree branches

The Hulk ordering a triple-triple at Timmy's and rolling up the rim of the actual store

The Hulk getting in on that 2 day rebate on his April Metropass because of the TTC strike

The Hulk hanging around the Central Reference Library waiting to check his hotmail on the free computers

The Hulk starting a facebook group to promote his DJ night in Kensington Market

The Hulk renting an apartment on Roncesvalles, inspiring a hulkaccino drink at his local fair trade coffee spot

The Hulk producing an award-winning season at Soulpepper after being named the new Artistic Director

Toronto Fantasyland

The thing is, it sort of was this awesome when I was very young.

I Will Never Stop Loving You, Quebec.

Salute To Ontario

Dave Le Diamant: Juste Un Gigolo

This eighties interview with quote machine David Lee Roth from the French Enfants Du Rock is greatly enhanced by the gallic touch of the giggling interviewer, the subtitles and the video toaster effects.

Aberturas da Telenovelas Brasileiras

These opening credits from seventies Brazilian telenovelas are FANTASTIC in every way.

Miami Vice Will Continue

I have the first three seasons of Miami Vice on DVD and they are awesome enough, but I feel that this is a show that should have been released with the original commercial breaks of the eighties. I remember a great night out many years ago that ended with us all over at someone's house watching their roommates' 6-hour VHS tape of Vice episodes with the original ads, and night turned into day...

Since then I have made a point of searching Goodwills and Value Villages for old VHS tapes marked Miami Vice - that was a show that people tended to record weekly on a timer and fill up a tape.

Anyway, here is are some prime Vice commercial breaks to prove my point, from a Pittsburgh NBC affiliate.

Mr. Freedom Isn't Free

Next week Eclipse is putting out The Delirious Fictions of William Klein on DVD - never dreamed that Mr. Freedom would receive a Criterion-level restoration and release, but here it is, along with Who Are You Polly Magoo? and The Model Couple, three over-the-top satires by one of the masters of photography. Here is a tribute to Mr. Freedom that should wet your whistle.