The Seattle Star

The Seattle True Independent Film Festival returns for another year with new digs and new films.

In this entry, Ryan and the Star’s José Amador discuss Sweet Smell of Success, the diverse nature of Tony Curtis’ career and personal life, Burt Lancaster’s artistic instincts, the role the HUAC had in the development of Film Noir, and, somehow, the lyrics to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B Goode.”

I went into Pip Chodorov’s Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film with reserved judgment. What I found while watching the film was that it is a film of incredibly narrow range.

In this entry the Night and Day Film Noir series’ curator Bradon Ryan and the Star’s José Amador effuse all over Carol Reed’s production of Graham Greene’s script The Third Man, briefly delve into the film’s production history and somehow find themselves in the middle of discussing the worlds of Joss Whedon, the Terminator movies, the Rambo movies, and Mutiny on the Bounty.

Director Lorraine Levy tells the story of two teenagers, one Israeli, and one Palestinian, who discover they were switched at birth. We follow the two young men as they and their families absorb the shock, re-assess their relationships, and forge new ones.

This week, Ryan turns the table on the Star’s José Amador, discuss the lesser known movies that are coming up on the program, briefly touch on the influence of European films on the Noir genre, and talk about Billy Wilder’s notable characteristics on the way to discussing this month’s Classic noir: Double Indemnity.

This week, the Star continues its conversation with Brandon Ryan, talking a bit about Christopher Nolan’s Memento, play a game of Noir/Not Noir, and discuss some of Ryan’s considerations regarding what films to select for the series.