Sunday Territorian 7 Nov 2021
Sunday Territorian; NewspaperNT
2021-11-07
English
Community newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.; Australian newspapers -- Northern Territory -- Darwin.
News Corp Australia
Darwin
application/pdf
Copyright. Made available by the publisher under licence.
News Corp Australia
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/854955
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/855006
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 7 2021 TV 21 V1 - NTNE01Z01MA Screen time Film critic David Stratton tells Nicholas Fonseca the move from cinemas to streaming services has simply broadened our choices Like any good movie critic, David Stratton is adept at taking notes its part of his job, after all, given he has spent more than 50 years as Australias best-known film historian, lecturer and reviewer. But no doubt the most personal of all the notes he has kept across a lifetime of watching and enjoying the art form are the simple ones he jots down to remind himself when and where he would first see a film. i was nine or 10 when i started making note of the place and date, Stratton says. i dont know why. People have different interests and hobbies, and that was mine. its a fun thing to do, to look back and see the amazing variety of places where i saw these films: Prague, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Los Angeles, New York Strattons vagabond moviegoing history is indeed a global story one that he weaves through his latest book, My Favourite Movies, as he writes about the 111 films that are nearest to his heart. it starts with Fritz Langs 1927 silent masterpiece Metropolis (first seen projected at home [on 8mm], 29 May 1961), ends with Alfonso Cuarns 2018 epic Roma (Venice Film Festival, 30 August 2018), and features everything from old Hollywood hits like Singin In The Rain to blockbusters like Jaws and Aussie classics such as Picnic At Hanging Rock and Animal Kingdom in between. in the book, Stratton recalls long lunches, chance encounters and fascinating correspondence with some of the worlds most acclaimed directors and actors, much of it facilitated by his worldwide adventures at film festivals and on movie sets. And while his obvious love for the cinema-going experience has hardly dimmed, the 82-year-old has also come to embrace the streaming revolution, which now provides movie-lovers with more choice than ever through services like Binge, Foxtel Go, Netflix and Google Play. im hopeful that people will return to the cinema, he says. it is obviously the best way to watch films that were made with an audience in mind, meant to be seen on a big screen, and enjoyed with the reaction of other people in the audience. Having said that, its possible to enjoy films on streaming. i have a home cinema that has a screen as big as many theatrettes in town, with surround sound so for me, a streaming film almost is a cinema experience. Streaming, of course, has also resurrected consumer access to thousands of old films that were lost to the ether when the era of the video store ended, and owing to the pandemic it has also meant our own home TVs are now the site for day-and-date movie premieres. Most notably, Disneys long-awaited Marvel movie Black Widow, first set to hit cinemas in May 2020 but delayed several times owing to the pandemic, bowed July 9 on Disney+ and in cinemas (where open) around the world, just weeks after Cruella did the same here. You can speak in favour of both things, argues Stratton. [The] Black Widow [release] that is the future. Thats the way its going to be. And it gives people an opportunity, however they want to do it. There is a choice, and im in favour of the widest possible choice. The more choice, the better. My Favourite Movies by David Stratton (Allen & Unwin, $32.99) is out now Girl, interrupted If you liked... detective ITS the real-life Beauty And The Beast, only this Hollywood romance didnt end in happily ever after. Brittany Murphy (pictured) was a talented star on the rise thanks to her scene-stealing roles in films such as Clueless and Girl, Interrupted, but at just 32 she was found dead in her Los Angeles home. When Murphys husband Simon Monjack died in similar circumstances five months later, it sparked all sorts of conspiracy theories about the couples home being cursed or filled with toxic mould. This two-part doco traces the role that Monjack a serial liar and manipulator played in her shock demise. WHAt HAppened, BrittAnY MurpHY? StreAminG, BinGe Siobhan Duck 90 dAY FiAnc If you liked... JOURNEY is a suburban soccer mum and military veteran who had already been married three times when she wed Ben, a man serving time for trying to run down his last girlfriend. After getting to know each other as penpals, they had only met a handful of times before tying the knot. Theirs is one of three complicated love stories told in this provocative and intriguing documentary. Thankfully, the film doesnt shy away from showing the brutal realities of these prison relationships. Met WHile incArcerAted StreAminG FrOm tHUrSDAY, BinGe SAturdAY niGHt live If you liked... JUST like his idol John Belushi, Chris Farley (pictured) made his name on Saturday Night Live before taking his unique brand of comedy to the big screen. And just like Belushi, Farley overdosed on a cocktail of drugs when he was just 33. Through archival footage and interviews with family and friends such as Mike Myers, Adam Sandler and Christina Applegate, this documentary charts Farleys rapid ascent from player in the Second City improvisational group to star of movies such as Tommy Boy and Black Sheep. i AM cHriS FArleY 6Pm, FriDAY, FOX DOcOS JawS (Binge) I was director of the Sydney Film Festival in 1975, and I had to choose between two films that nobody had seen for closing night. One, a film called Jaws, by a young director named Steven Spielberg. The other was The Day Of The Locust, based on a famous novel about Hollywood in the 1930s. I chose Locust. Big mistake. Its a terrible picture! When I saw Jaws about a month later, I knew it should have been the film. It changed many things. Breaker Morant (Netflix) This classic 1980 war drama starring Edward Woodward and Bryan Brown was one of those films made when the Australian New Wave was at its height. Bruce Beresford can be an uneven director, but at his best which he is here he knows how to tell a story, work with actors and provide compelling visuals. LorenzoS oIL (Binge, Foxtel Go) George Millers 1992 tearjerker about a couple (Nick Nolte and Susan Sarandon) fighting the clock to save their terminally ill son is deeply moving, says Stratton. George put his heart and soul into this. If you look at this film and then Mad Max: Fury Road, you would not think they were made by the same director. Thats a huge credit to his ability. MILLIon DoLLar BaBy (Binge, Foxtel Go) Im a huge fan of Clint Eastwood and think he is the last of the great classical mainstream Hollywood directors, says Stratton, who calls Eastwoods Oscar-winning 2004 boxing drama a tragic story, told with such emotion. The last part of this movie is extraordinary. And Clint makes directing it all look so easy. Four of David Strattons favourites you can stream right now try try try Cinephile: From top left, film critic David Stratton; Jaws; Breaker Morant; and Scarlett Johannson in Black Widow.