The Filmcake

Warren Theater opens on Friday here in Moore, OK. Driving by at night, it stands out as a handsome multiplex. The retro looks serves it well. And, from what I’ve read, the facade is only the beginning. And, I’m most excited by the fact that there won’t be any commercials or slide-shows before the features. It’s just unfortunate that it’ll open with such a dismal lineup of movies. It is April after all. Both the Oklahoma Gazette and Moore Monthly have nice articles about the theater (see the paper editions).

So, the opening of this theater not a mile from my front door step got me wondering what other film opportunities are available in my area. Of course, there are the other traditional theaters. The multiplexes and dollar theaters. But, there is certainly more than that.

Noble Theater @ The Oklahoma City Museum of Art offers independent, foreign, and classical films. Noble Theater also acts as one of the host venues for the deadCENTER Film Festival which showcases independent films from Oklahoma and beyond (the 8th edition will take place this year June 11-15). Some of these same festival films can be seen throughout the year at shortsSUITE at the XO Lounge. Down at the University of Oklahoma, the OU Film & Video Studies program hosts a variety of screenings. While on the Norman Campus, you can also check out Fred Films at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art where they currently have an ongoing program on the Three Cinemas of China. If OU is not your cup of tea, you can head over to OCU where the Oklahoma City University Film Institute holds the occasional screening or lecture. And, if you’re in the mood for something bigger, you can head over to the Dome Theater at the Science Museum Oklahoma. And, finally, if you just want to get out of the city, you can certainly head up to Circle Cinema in Tulsa for the latest documentary, independent, and foreign films.

I finished reading Film Art, 7th ed. last week. It was a delicious aperitif. It didn’t quite satisfy my hunger so much as prepare me for further voracious eating.

I’m not sure how the book is read in the context of an introductory film course. I’m not sure which, if any, parts are skipped over. Nor do I know what sort of clips or screenings would be shown in conjunction with the reading. Basically, I just decided to read the book cover to cover (aside from the Sample Analyses). After reading through the third chapter, I decided to watch Citizen Kane again. This way, I could follow along with Film Art’s discussion on Narrative Form. And, then as I read through Chapters 4 & 5 on the types of films, I was able to find many of the referenced short films online (e.g. The River, Ballet Mecanique, etc.). I’m certain that this endeavor–teaching myself about film–would be much more difficult if it weren’t for YouTube, Internet Archive, and Google.

I watched North by Northwest again and read the Sample Analysis that is included in Chapter 11. Over the next few days, I plan on doing the same–watching the film and reading the included analysis–with The Thin Blue Line and His Girl Friday.

I’m not sure where to go from here. Some of the topics brought up in the book that interested me most were lighting techniques and editing. I hadn’t before appreciated the craft that went into both of these elements. I’m also very curious about film history, especially the French New Wave.  And just more generally, I want to learn more about film theory. There’s plenty of places to go from here.

I have a couple of books on Kubrick and several on Hitchcock, as well as a decent collection of their films, so I might set off on looking at the work of one of these great directors. Still, I’d like to partake of some more general film knowledge before getting into a particular director. We’ll see…