LAMBs in the Director's Chair
Event #6 co-starring
Jane Campion and
Kathryn Bigelow
March 16th to 18th of 2010
Event #6 co-starring
Jane Campion and
Kathryn Bigelow
March 16th to 18th of 2010
Hello to everyone, it is I, DJ Heinlein from Matte Havoc. For the next three days, I will be your friendly tour guide as we scan through the careers of two film directors who should be given their fair share of attention. These two women, Jane Campion and Kathryn Bigelow, have produced quality material during their careers, but their meager list of titles may be pale in comparison to the mass quantity of films that have been manufactured by the megastars of film directing. No, I will not name drop any of those big name directors, since I am confident you are thinking of a couple of the same people as I am thinking. So, who of you bothered to sit down to watch the eighty-second annual Academy Awards ceremony earlier this month? Raise your hands. Do not be afraid to admit it. Good to see quite a few people have watched the awards ceremony this year. Even if you have not watched the ceremony, there is still a chance that you may have heard that Kathryn Bigelow’s film The Hurt Locker (2009) has been given six Oscar awards. It was quite a feat when placed in competition with a leviathan of a movie budget known to the rest of the world as Avatar (2009). Since her film has been proven the underdog in the latest string of awards ceremonies, I will be saving the reviews for this film until later. Make sure to stay tuned, because you will not want to miss the numerous amounts of reviews that have been submitted for The Hurt Locker.
Let me begin the first day of the series by directing your attention to an editorial that has been written for the site Big Thoughts from a Small Mind. The author of the site, CS, has been blogging since 2006 and I am glad to see that the energy and enthusiasm for writing has not worn off. CS had written and published the editorial piece on March 7, which was the day of the Oscars ceremony. Click here to read the entire article.
On a more personal level, Andy from Fandango Groovers Movie Blog has published a brief story about how he is connected with Kathryn Bigelow’s film Point Break (1991). Within the article, he refers to the following quote from the film: “Surfing’s the source; it will change your life. Swear to God.” Click here to read what he has to say about his personal connection to the film.
Our good friend Branden from Foolish Blatherings has written a two-part review of The Hurt Locker that I would like to share with you. This could be a sneak peek at what you can expect later on when we cover all of the reviews for the film. By the way, I would like to say "thank you" to all of the LAMB bloggers who have sent in a review for this film making it the biggest turnout for a single film for Chair #6. So, let us get started with Branden’s first installment of his review, which was published back in June of last year. Click here to read it. Fast-forward to January of this year he submitted an article to Atlanta Free Press which covers the film in broad detail. Click here to read the second installment of his review.
It would be unfavorable if I were to cut the first day off short without offering a bit more attention to our co-star director: Jane Campion. She is equally artistic and creative in filmmaking. There are several submitted reviews for her films, which I would like to direct your attention to right now.
The first review comes from Jake over at Not Just Movies. On a side note, it has been observed that the promotional banner that has been posted on Not Just Movies is a bazillion times better looking than the one I have created for event number six. Shame on me for a lackluster banner and a tremendous amount of props goes to the person who created a top-notch banner! Anyway, Jake has chosen to jump back to the early portion of Jane Campion’s career to review her 1989 film Sweetie. This film is a perfect selection to place as the front runner of the event, because it marks her official debut with a feature length film with a theatrical release. On a side note, it is her second feature length film, but the first one was broadcast on Australian television in 1986 and not released in the movie theaters. With all that said and done, here is Jake’s review of Sweetie.
One of her most famous films that she has ever directed has won three Oscar awards, including one for her work on writing the original screenplay for the film. The film is none other than The Piano (1993), which co-stars Anna Paquin and Holly Hunter who have garnered the other two Oscar awards for the film. It would be a misgiving if I were to pass by the film for the first day of the event. Two people have submitted a review for the film, which I am thrilled to post here. The first review comes from Simon who writes for Entertain Me. He has written a complete essay on the film by breaking it down into artistic influences and sociological perspectives. An intriguing read to say the least. Check out his review of The Piano by following this link.
Okay, the second review has been written by Alex from Film Forager. Her site is prominently displaying the same kick ass promotional banner that has been posted on Not Just Movies. Whoever has designed that awesome banner could you please send me an e-mail? I would love to have you create a new banner for the seventh installment of the Director’s Chair for me. Anyway, back to Alex’s review of The Piano. She offers a few reasons why you must see this film if you have not watched it already. Her review can be found by clicking this link to the article.
At this point, I will have to cut the first day off a bit short. Tomorrow there will be a few more film reviews for the films from Kathryn Bigelow including an overview editorial of her career. In addition, there will be a review for Jane Campion’s lengthy film An Angel at My Table (1990). The total running time for the film is clocked at two hours and thirty-eight minutes! So make sure to stay tuned for more fun tomorrow.
