My Holy Grail of Blu-ray releases from my favorite director — Krzysztof Kieslowski. Thank you Criterion!

On a related note, check out these excellent Kieslowski interviews from a previous blog post…

Three Colors Trilogy
(Trois couleurs) | Jeffrey Overstreet — Arts & Faith

Three Colors: A Hymn to European Cinema | By Colin MacCabe

Blue: Bare Necessities | By Nick James

White: The Nonpolitical Reunifications of Karol Karol | By Stuart Klawans

Red: A Fraternity of Strangers | By Georgina Evans

UPDATE: It’s still available, so I should make note of the the previous Miramax DVD release. The set is lovingly crafted, and chock full of extras; many of which were carried over to the Criterion edition. A major Miramax DVD feature not included in the newer Criterions are the superb commentary tracks by film scholar Annette Insdorf — essential listening for film scholars, cinéastes, and Kieslowski fans. She also penned an excellent Kieslowski film career analysis titled: Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzystzof Kieslowski.

I was Googling some articles on extroversion and introversion, and came across this piece from about ten years ago (an interesting, and slightly affirming read, coming from my particular introverted or “loner” viewpoint).

Caring for Your Introvert: The habits and needs of a little-understood group (by, JONATHAN RAUCH | The Atlantic, March 2003)

The article does offer some interesting insight into the way loners think, but it seems to militantly wave the introvert flag while dismissing extroverts out of hand. However, in the main, I think Rauch is being deliberately tongue-in-cheek, and playfully sarcastic, to illustrate some larger points and spark conversation. I mean, this statement alone is pure satire:

“Are introverts arrogant? Hardly. I suppose this common misconception has to do with our being more intelligent, more reflective, more independent, more level-headed, more refined, and more sensitive than extroverts.”

In case the humor doesn’t translate fully in text (and for the record) I don’t subscribe to that previous quote. My posting of the article isn’t some angry manifesto against perceived oppression of the masses, or disdain for people who don’t share my solitary perspective. Just — as a happy loner trying to achieve my own peace of mind — trying to understand myself, others, and grasp the debate along the whole introvert-extrovert continuum. But the main reason I posted this article was for the fascinating reader responses. As is so often the case with a write-up like this, the reader comments are far more probing and thought-provoking than the article itself. As to be expected, a lot of loners seeking affirmation weigh-in. But many extroverts have their say as well. There’s a few intriguing discussions of introvert-extrovert marriages; and how those couples have worked out those differences. The comments, predictably, do stray off on some tangents and fits of incivility, but overall the dialogue is quite engaging — an interesting thread for anyone curious about this topic.

Rauch also appeared in a follow-up Q&A article a few years later:

Introverts of the World, Unite! (by, SAGE STOSSEL | The Atlantic, February 2006)

I recently received this on-topic book recommendation, Susan Cain’s excellent: Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking. Check out her TEDtalks and @Google presentations in the above video links…

I’m reposting this classic Mike Wallace dialogue with Rod Serling from circa ’59. Still one of my favorite interviews. A must-see for writers, or creative people of all stripes. The copyright enforcers seem to pull this video off YouTube frequently — we’ll see how long this one lasts… Thanks to user rolko52 for uploading it.

Here’s another interesting 1970 chat with Serling and University of Kansas professor James Gunn (around the time Night Gallery was launching on NBC).

From YouTube user demokitch’s description of the clips:

“In 1970 University of Kansas professor James Gunn interviewed a series of science fiction authors for his Centron film series “Science Fiction in Literature”. This footage from an unreleased film in that series featuring an interview with Rod Serling, which wasn’t finished due to problems with obtaining rights to show footage from Serling’s work in television. This reconstruction is based on the original workprint footage that was saved on two separate analog sources since the audio track was separate. Re-syncing the footage was a long involved process as the audio track didn’t match the film and there was substantial sync drift. While not perfect, there’s a lot of interesting information on writing for television in the dialogue with Serling as well as a prophetic statement about his health at the beginning.”

The Reason for God; pastor Tim Keller’s brilliant 2008 case for faith in Christ; ranks right at the top of my list of modern Christian thinker’s works. Keller has often been compared to C.S. Lewis in his ability to tackle the big theological questions in a clear, easy to understand fashion — yet not simplistically. I find his approach comprehensive, and intellectually satisfying. For an engaging summary of the book, you can check out this 80-minute clip. It’s a 2008 Keller lecture at UC Berkeley. A good chunk near the end includes an audience Q&A:

A more recent in Keller’s Reason for God talks is this presentation he gave at Dundonald Church in Wimbledon, UK about a year ago.

PART I:

Dr Tim Keller, “The Reason For God” Part 1 from Dundonald Church on Vimeo.

PART II:

Dr Tim Keller, “The Reason For God” Part 2 from Dundonald Church on Vimeo.

I just completed his new book, King’s Cross; which I reckon as his best yet. In The Reason for God, a detailed survey of the most common philosophical and intellectual objections to Christianity were addressed. King’s Cross comes at the question from another vantage point; namely as a careful inquiry into the pivotal character: Christ himself.

King’s Cross is the lecture topic in the “Tim Keller’s Visit to Belhaven” clip at the top of this page…

In a recent interview with MSNBC, Keller touches upon the fact that the very identity of Jesus is often ill-defined in our modern culture — as he’s diluted, marginalized or co-opted into many agendas across the political and social spectrum. His new book successfully filters out this contemporary static with an illuminating analysis of Jesus Christ from the gospels (in this case the book of Mark). After all, there’s absolutely no point to scriptures, or the Christian faith, if this central figure — Christ — is not who he claimed to be. C.S. Lewis stated it most succinctly when he wrote:

“Christianity is a statement which, if false, is of no importance, and, if true, is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Of additional, and critical, interest is the reliability of the gospel accounts themselves. An academic movement came to the fore in the late 19th century that opined the New Testament could only be taken as legendary myth prose — handed down as they were in the oral-tradition of the time, and modified to suit the particular agendas of the early church leaders. Keller argues quite successfully in his new book that this couldn’t have been the case; but, in fact, the gospels have very strong corroborating evidence that identify them as eyewitness testimonies. On this specific subject, he points to (in the book and in several recent interviews) the current work of biblical scholar Richard Bauckham titled Jesus and the Eyewitnesses.

UPDATE 8/30/11:

Keller fielding some wonderfully tough and probing questions from Martin Bashir and David Eisenbach at a Columbia University symposium. Check out the notes for this video at its YouTube page. There’s a listing of all the topics discussed, and where they occur on the video timeline…

Below is a fascinating article on painter Edward Hopper’s past traveling exhibit at The National Gallery of Art.

How Edward Hopper Saw the Light | By Joseph Phelan

Beyond Vermeer, Rembrandt and Caravaggio, Hopper seems to be the most referenced painter amongst cinematographers. Something about his choice of subject, composition, color and lighting embeds the potential for narrative into the frame. His famous Nighthawks is a consistent favorite with filmmakers (and bloggers).

Hopper’s favorite essay: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance.

Edward Hopper (WikiPaintings)

– Above video with NASA engineers commentary

– Wiki

– NASA Interactive History

A Blast From The Past: Shuttle Through The Decades from NPR on Vimeo.

SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR FINAL LAUNCH from Northern Lights on Vimeo.

– The above Endeavour Final Launch clip is amazing in full-screen (press the arrows button between “HD” and “Vimeo” to the right of the timeline bar).

– Riding the Booster with Enhanced Sound | Skywalker Sound by Ben Burtt & Noah Katz | Designed from the existing recordings to make some elements more audible, and sculpt it into a 5.1 mix…

– A Remarkable Flying Machine – “This is a NASA documentary from 1981 about the first space shuttle mission, STS-1 and the space shuttle Columbia. The first test flight of the space shuttle was launched on April 12, 1981 and landed on April 14, 1981. Astronaut John Young was commander and Bob Crippen was pilot for the flight.” | The Spacearium (YouTube)

Earlier in the year I first discovered the great Dutch-born, Australian émigré, director Paul Cox. In his biopic Molokai (based on the life of Father Damien of Molokai) I recognized a philosophically kindred filmmaking voice. What really sealed my admiration for the auteur was a recent viewing of his wonderful Van Gogh documentary Vincent (Ebert’s review). This is the finest cinematic portrait I’ve seen of the inspiring Dutch painter. John Hurt’s powerful narration in the voice of the artist (culled from his wealth of written correspondence) reminds the viewer that Van Gogh’s beautiful gift to humanity was as much his writing; as it was his marathon ten-year oeuvre of paintings.

Below is an enlightening 55-minute interview with Paul Cox (circa ’96, I think) where the making of Vincent, and his career up to that point, is discussed. Forgive the weird interlaced motion-strobing in parts. I think that may be an artifact of some kind of PAL to NTSC conversion…

On the topic of Van Gogh, I became seriously interested in his life about six or seven years ago after reading Irving Stone’s masterpiece, semi-fictionalized, biography: Lust for Life. About the same time, I first heard Don McLean’s moving ballad: Starry Starry Night — which, incidentally, has become so associated with the painter that it’s played daily over the house p.a. at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. If I had to pick one all-time favorite song, this may very well be it.

Self-portrait | Musée d’Orsay (click on image for larger version) | petrus.agricola | flickr

UPDATE: There’s a new 2011 documentary about the director (see featured trailer at the top of the page):

“Documentarian David Bradbury brings us an affectionate portrait of the life and work of venerated Australian director Paul Cox.

Arguably one of the most important filmmakers to come out of this country, and certainly one of the most prolific, director Paul Cox (Man of Flowers 1983, Lonely Hearts 1981, My First Wife 1984, Innocence 2000) occupies a unique place in the Australian film landscape.

A Dutch native who relocated to Melbourne in his early 20′s in the 1960s, Cox went on to make more than 22 feature films over the next four decades, all highly personal and artistically ambitious. All outside the Hollywood model.

Featuring a who’s who of Australian film and intellectual life of the past 30 years – including David Stratton, Phillip Adams, Chris Haywood, Bob Ellis and Wendy Hughes – Bradbury’s tribute to the great director delves into Cox’s outlook on filmmaking and life, particularly in the wake of his remarkable recent brush with cancer.”

One of favorite films: Terrence Malick’s 2005 masterpiece, The New World. I still find the bookend credit sequences to be the ultimate overture and finale ever committed to celluloid. The images, graphics, James Horner’s score, and the exquisite sound design (headphones are a must) all combine beautifully to establish the poetic tenor of the story. And the ever-ascending majesty of Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold (Vorspiel) is an especially inspired touch.

One thing I found curious — during the release of Malick’s Tree of Life preview prior to Christmas 2010 — was the widespread ignoring of The New World in many critic’s write-ups surrounding the new trailer. His first three films up to The Thin Red Line (which got an incredibly fine recent release on Criterion — the best Blu-ray transfer I’ve seen to-date) all seem to garner universal praise. However, New World consistently gets short-shrift. When it was released in late 2005 it was met by a tepid box-office and critical dismissal.

This interesting article, written around the time of original theatrical release, tries to get at possible explanations as to why New World fell by the wayside:

Art in the Age of Myopia: Terrence Malick’s The New World

The film does have its devotees. Ebert gave it four stars and the Reverse Shot blog named it their second favorite film of the decade. The IMAGE blog, in their updated 2011 roundup, listed Malick’s film at number 53, all-time, in their Arts & Faith Top 100 Films (see Steven D. Greydanus’ introduction to that list).

Additionally unearthed — this retrospective 2009 piece from The Guardian: The New World: A Misunderstood Masterpiece?

To mark the newly released Tree of Life, Matt Zoller Seitz has been running a Malick retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image; culminating in this piece on The New World.