tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post116519512732006085..comments2023-10-11T03:42:59.033-07:00Comments on The Criterion Contraption: #63: Carnival of SoulsMatthew Dessemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-58928756759066981392013-06-01T12:55:17.329-07:002013-06-01T12:55:17.329-07:00I totally love 'Carnival Of Souls" take i...I totally love 'Carnival Of Souls" take it seriously, and think the set is probably the most fun of any in the Criterion Collection. I don't think Candice Hilligoss has ever been given fair credit for her amazing, rather brave performance. I also like the guy in the roadhouse scene (Steve Boozer as Chip) who wonders into movie history, says something sleazy, and wonders out. In all Greghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288008924419574934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-59220886203759423872011-09-14T12:11:21.216-07:002011-09-14T12:11:21.216-07:00Great locations? Since you like abandoned places, ...Great locations? Since you like abandoned places, check out all the dead them parks in Japan. The Japanese mistakend thought that they'd be able to pull in Chinese from the mainland.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-33735080202237731122011-03-21T22:03:32.252-07:002011-03-21T22:03:32.252-07:00Well, in that there's a distinct Englishness t...Well, in that there's a distinct Englishness to them, certainly- the Sex Ed ones are interesting in part because they're all over the place in terms of format, from little fictional pieces to cartoons to harrowingly explicit true stories in the 70s. They're sort of the sex equivalent of the terrifying Driver's Ed or work safety film.Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00521395530302258154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-21805655996958719872011-03-21T20:57:56.177-07:002011-03-21T20:57:56.177-07:00Tom,
Let's say his anti-intellectualism is ch...Tom,<br /><br />Let's say his anti-intellectualism is charming. Re the BFI stuff, I have six volumes of "The Educational Archives" set, which is enough for me (favorite? "Lunchroom Manners," with Mr. Bungle). Are British educational films their own thing?Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-53312703240182804342011-03-21T20:40:47.747-07:002011-03-21T20:40:47.747-07:00Also, there are a lot of great collections of educ...Also, there are a lot of great collections of educational shorts put out by the BFI- my personal favorite is the sex education one (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Birds-Bees-DVD-Various/dp/B004IY7KWU/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1300765187&sr=1-2) but there are a lot of them. They don't come with anything like the kind of scholarly context I'd like to see, but they're still greatTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00521395530302258154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-35375918336660060002011-03-21T19:46:24.881-07:002011-03-21T19:46:24.881-07:00I've seen the Mike Nelson commentary for Carni...I've seen the Mike Nelson commentary for Carnival of Souls, though not the later three man Rifftrax version. I was rather disappointed, it wasn't his strongest and he wasn't acknowledging that the movie is above the normal horrid MST3k crap (it bothers me how little interested in movies Nelson actually is sometimes.)<br /><br />I always look at this movie as an extra long Twilight Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00521395530302258154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-51535253649002524652010-06-07T17:05:18.353-07:002010-06-07T17:05:18.353-07:00Currently converting Carnival of Souls into 3D usi...Currently converting Carnival of Souls into 3D using depth maps. See my blog and YouTube clips for further info.<br /><br />I only wish I could have used the Criterion transfer instead of the public domain version...oh well...maybe one day.2D23Dconversionshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05938253564426139073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-72549572526250428252010-06-07T06:16:19.862-07:002010-06-07T06:16:19.862-07:00Carnival of Souls is currently being converted to ...Carnival of Souls is currently being converted to 3D.....<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrcsE4itGE0&feature=player_embeddedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-39336135748367837822007-10-08T22:21:00.000-07:002007-10-08T22:21:00.000-07:00JJ,So what are you doing posting comments on a blo...JJ,<BR/><BR/>So what are you doing posting comments on a blog, man? You should be making a horror movie! One of the downsides to Los Angeles is there's not much tragic history.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-9949105576514831912007-10-08T13:18:00.000-07:002007-10-08T13:18:00.000-07:00I lived next to Met State (the old mental hospital...I lived next to Met State (the old mental hospital, not the film!) for years, and even worked on a horror film that was shot there (the same time Session 9 was shooting up at the abandoned Danvers State Hospital, amazingly enough The horror film was never released, by the way.). It was amazing to walk around it, this immense, crumbling, Angkor Wat like state mental hospital, and find things Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-76530694266619626072007-05-03T02:18:00.000-07:002007-05-03T02:18:00.000-07:00Mark, Yeah, sometimes there's a lot of duplicate i...Mark, <BR/><BR/>Yeah, sometimes there's a lot of duplicate information on the extras, especially on the <I>Carnival of Souls</I> 2-disk spectacular. What I find more frustrating, however, is the <I>lack</I> of special features on the more difficult films (e.g., <I>Salò</I> or <I>The Blood of a Poet</I>), where I really would like to hear someone making a detailed case for the film's greatness. Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-64835889575196256582007-04-30T16:13:00.000-07:002007-04-30T16:13:00.000-07:00Matthew,I joined your quest to watch the entire cr...Matthew,<BR/><BR/>I joined your quest to watch the entire criterion collection at the Night Porter (as I notified you by private email). After getting way ahead of you, I'm now falling behind and have just seen Carnival of Souls.<BR/><BR/>While I wasn't completely awed by this movie, I can see why it's a cult favorite and why other people might fall in love with it. I was amazed by some of the Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15698885393854345012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-74555731319167665322007-03-21T21:47:00.000-07:002007-03-21T21:47:00.000-07:00yves perret,Yeah, I wanted to see Session 9 when i...yves perret,<BR/><BR/>Yeah, I wanted to see <I>Session 9</I> when it came out. Since I wrote this, my sister toured a great location in St. Louis: a <I>children's asylum</I>. I'm not making that up. Turn of the century, huge, only a small part of the building was still in use. Hallways of little dorm rooms for disturbed kids that locked on the outside. Wish I had a horror script and lived inMatthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-43893366926469892192007-03-21T21:45:00.000-07:002007-03-21T21:45:00.000-07:00the dave,I have kind of a morbid fear of photos of...the dave,<BR/><BR/>I have kind of a morbid fear of photos of actual dead people, so I've been trying not to watch Driver's Ed films. But I've always been a little curious about the rumors about the Highway Safety Foundation, so maybe I'll have to check that out.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-74921023335965048112007-03-20T01:23:00.000-07:002007-03-20T01:23:00.000-07:00"Session 9" would be another example of a movie di..."Session 9" would be another example of a movie directly inspired by a location...an abandoned mental hospital, to be exact. As you say, you'd have to work pretty hard to make a hash out of trying to scare people with a location like that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1169521647715598322007-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:002007-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:00I like your take on Carnival Of Souls. I'm a bigg...I like your take on Carnival Of Souls. I'm a bigger fan than you, but I'll admit that it isn't as good as I'd like it to be.<BR/><BR/>If you educational or industrial films, I'd like to suggest a documentary called Hell's Highway. It's specifically for driver's ed films from the 1950s and 1960s. It's not quite as detailed as I would have liked, but there is some interesting behind the camera Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03083806484316898328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1168928322520535722007-01-15T22:18:00.000-08:002007-01-15T22:18:00.000-08:00Matthew,Uranium City sounds like a great place to ...Matthew,<BR/><BR/>Uranium City sounds like a great place to shoot the kind of movie that involves burning down or blowing up houses. <BR/><BR/>Jim, yeah, it's a notch above B horror. And Prelinger does good work, it's kind of crazy to think we're losing so many of those films forever.Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167590398397653232006-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:002006-12-31T10:39:00.000-08:00Matt,Loved your take on Carnival of Souls -- I wat...Matt,<BR/><BR/>Loved your take on Carnival of Souls -- I watched it a few months ago and was very pleasantly surprised -- I don't always go for the "b horror," but found it to be a very visually striking and moody film.<BR/><BR/>Also thanks for the link to the Prelinger Archives -- I had forgotten that they existed. I first heard about them in college; my documentary professor knew Rick PrelingerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167360588257272172006-12-28T18:49:00.000-08:002006-12-28T18:49:00.000-08:00Its nice to have this site back up and running.My ...Its nice to have this site back up and running.<BR/><BR/>My suggestion for interesting locations is the town of Uranium City, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its a ghost town in northern Canada. It used to house 5,000 people; now only 70 people live there. It is said that you can buy houses for a dollar, and that on people's birthdays they will often end up owning entire blocks. Its a creepy place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167331721575971122006-12-28T10:48:00.000-08:002006-12-28T10:48:00.000-08:00Jeff,I don't know Bergman or Antonioni well enough...Jeff,<BR/><BR/>I don't know Bergman or Antonioni well enough to say anything intelligent about their influence here. John Clifford said they were going for "the look of a Bergman and the feel of a Cocteau," but I don't know where Antonioni comes into it. But yes, a shoutout is probably deserved, so: Holla! If there are specific links, influences, &c. that you know of by all means elaborate.<BRMatthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167318396736158032006-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:002006-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:00are there any other similarities to Carnevil?are there any other similarities to Carnevil?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167296652430129092006-12-28T01:04:00.000-08:002006-12-28T01:04:00.000-08:00How about a shout-out to Bergman or Antonioni, two...How about a shout-out to Bergman or Antonioni, two other influences on the movie?Jeff McMahonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17455194268519396055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167274173569828662006-12-27T18:49:00.000-08:002006-12-27T18:49:00.000-08:00John,Thanks for the link to "Shake Hands With Dang...John,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the link to "Shake Hands With Danger." Well worth a look for anyone who hasn't seen it. I understand Mike Nelson does a commentary track on one of the DVDs of <I>Carnival of Souls</I>, have you seen it? I was a big MST3K fan back in the days of VHS but haven't seen it in a long time.<BR/><BR/>Anonymous,<BR/><BR/>I haven't heard of Handcranked Films but <I>American Matthew Dessemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288268335735601918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167273420600609132006-12-27T18:37:00.000-08:002006-12-27T18:37:00.000-08:00Hey there, great site! I really enjoy reading you...Hey there, great site! I really enjoy reading your reviews. <BR/><BR/>I will admit to a deep and abiding appreciation of <I>carnival of souls</I>. okay, maybe not deep or abiding, but it's a big guilty pleasure at times for me. The Saltair footage is great. <BR/><BR/>Have you heard of <A HREF="http://www.handcrankedfilm.com" REL="nofollow">Handcranked Film</A>? Two of the directors from Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8796371.post-1167271516519918532006-12-27T18:05:00.000-08:002006-12-27T18:05:00.000-08:00Oh, and hey, I'm glad you namechecked the Prelinge...Oh, and hey, I'm glad you namechecked the Prelinger archives. As both a librarian and MST3K fan, the Prelinger collection is sweet, sweet candy to me. Shake Hands with Danger can be downloaded from <A HREF="http://www.archive.org/details/ShakeHan1970" REL="nofollow">here</A>, along with piles of other Centron goodies.John Finkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14993317075849406603noreply@blogger.com