The Projectors

The Battle of Algiers (1967)

CORRECTION: This film is based on the writings of Saddi Yacef NOT Franco Solinas the screenwriter.
It’s GLORY & PROPAGANDA all month for our theme and let me ask you a question…are you ready for a revolution? Our covid stricken hosts discuss one of the most realistic war films ever made and the reverberations of the conflict it depicts resonates soundly on screen because the movie about the conflict is only about 5 years removed from the end of the conflict itself and it’s all filmed exactly where it all happened. France occupied what was once called “French Algeria” for 130 years until the National Liberation Front patiently pushed back against their European colonizers and got their independence from France in 1962. Based on the writings of Saddi Yacef, this movie features many people who were actually involved in the actual conflict. With the assist of Italian productions and directed by Gillo Pontecorvo, a revolutionary war film was made that was so realistic that you often couldn’t be too sure that you were watching news reels. It’s all recreated masterfully. We’re talking the 1967 film “THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS” starring Brahim Haggiag, Jean Martin & Saddi Yacef. You’ll never see a war movie quite like this one. Here’s a link to the film but it can also be streamed on MAX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpn4Htfrv88
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Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

War movies are happening all month in a theme we call GLORY & PROPAGANDA and we wrap up WW2 week with a tearjerker anime. You can call what the U.S. did in Japan brutal, we won’t deny that, but boy did all that bombing inspire some great film art. Bob’s grandfather was escorting oil tankers coming from South America on a Navy ship during this time so you can’t blame him for what happened to these kid’s mother. Blame Truman. We’re looming near the end of the war in the Pacific and Japan is struggling hard between firebombings and food shortages. A brother and his little sister, newly orphaned, must go and make their way in a stressed village. They have an aunt there but she kinda sucks. This brother would do anything for his sister, stubbornly so, but a 14 year old boy with a big heart for his sibling may not be enough to succeed in this harsh reality. We’re discussing Isao Takahata’s anime adaptation of Akiyuki Osaka’s short story ‘GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES” from 1988. Spirits of hard times run restless but at least they aren’t alone. 
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City of Life and Death (2009)

WARNING: A LOT OF TALK ABOUT SEXUAL VIOLENCE AND GENERAL INHUMANITY. Shit can get rough during wartime. Cruelty can rear its ugly head and we get a lot of that during our war-movie themed month we’re calling GLORY & PROPAGANDA. This week is WW2 week. The Second Sino-Japanese War probably would have happened anyway, regardless of the rest of the world’s troubles, but it was on the footsteps and an essential part of how ever-present troubles were across the globe leading up to the Second World War. It was the Fourth of July last week and China gives us a big assist with their amazing explosives that we blow up, so this month let’s talk about a Chinese movie about an infamous event that the Japanese don’t talk much about in their media. We’re talking about the Siege and Rape of Nanking as depicted in Lu Chuan’s 2009 film “CITY OF LIFE AND DEATH” also called “NANKING! NANKING!”. What is interesting about Chuan’s epic of atrocity is that he manages to depict humanity even amongst the Japanese. Sergeant Kadokawa is not enjoying the abject horror his fellow soldiers are committing on prisoners or civilians. The remaining Chinese citizens are struggling to survive what may not be survivable. This movie is pretty hard to watch but if you read a little bit on this actual history then you realize how much harder it could have gone. Then there’s a beat near the end that you can shake your sweet ass to. Here’s a link with English subs we found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx_ervF7h7w
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Inglourious Basterds (2009)

July is GLORY & PROPAGANDA!!! That means war movies all month long and we’re in the middle of WW2 week with our very first Quentin Tarantino film discussion that was very likely inspired by our Monday selection “The Dirty Dozen”, episode out now! There’s some genuine horror this month but Tarantino finds ways to use violence in a weirdly cathartic way. Comeuppance is a universal theme in Tarantino movies and it’s plentiful here. This war movie is brutally funny at times and pays sincere homage to American, French and German cinema history. We’re talking about INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS from 2009 starring Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Melanie Laurent, Michael Fassbinder, Diane Kruger and many more. Would you burn the one thing you love the most left in this world to destroy Hitler and Goebbels? We’re talking your own independent movie theater, film nerd. Your own special movie theater where you can play “Freddy Got Fingered” anytime you want. Would you burn that to kill Hitler? Here’s a link we found that will probably be a dead link soon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-WxuM-gFwE
 
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Come and See (1985)

This month is GLORY & PROPAGANDA for our theme. It’s WW 2 week and we’re all over the globe. Western exceptionalism may downplay Soviet contributions to art but they made some pretty fantastic movies once they made it out of very drawn out review processes. One such movie was held for seven years and, somehow, no changes were made except to the title of the film. “KILL HITLER” would have been a pretty cool title for this movie but the book of Revelations seemed like more worthy inspiration for a story about an enthusiastic Belarussian boy who wants to join his countrymen against the Nazi threat but finds absolute horrors all along the way. “COME AND SEE” released in 1985, directed by Elem Klimov and starring a 14-year-old Aleksei Kravchenko is one of the most stark, surreal and savage anti-war movies of all time. A testament to what filmmaking can do and what it can represent from the images you see to the sounds that you hear. The most brutal moments are reflected not in literal representation but through the terror of those experiencing and observing it. Highly recommended for those who want to get into the art of filmmaking and to fans of good ass movies no matter what they are. Yes, we found a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjIiApN6cfg
 
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The Dirty Dozen (1967)

GLORY & PROPAGANDA is July’s theme. That means wartime movies all month long and we got some 60s dadcool cinema to discuss today. Two fisted but not too “heel clickey” Robert Aldrich’s 1967 film “THE DIRTY DOZEN” holds solid ground in the history of good war movies. Lee Marvin plays Major Reisman, a not very well liked officer, who is assigned a dozen military prisoners who are set to either hang or serve hard time for acts of thievery, murder and rape. The goal is to parachute into France and kill a shit-ton of nazi officers the night before D-Day. Shooting nazis sounds fun but this is pretty much a suicide mission. Death by gallows or one last chance to die by glory. Reisman has to figure out how to unify these misfits even if one or two of them might actually be pretty terrible people. Every dad saw this 50 years ago but when a cast is stacked with the likes of Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas and plenty more, you can bet THE DIRTY DOZEN is a good time at any time. Check it out and hear us tell it. Also, you gotta check out the poster for this movie. It’s cool as hell. An all timer. 
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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

All July is movies at war, a theme we’re calling “GLORY & PROPAGANDA”. War films are movie genre that draws another specific sub-class of film that can also cross over with westerns. We’re talking about what we like to call “DAD BONER MOVIES”. I guess you could say “Dad Flicks” if you don’t want to be crude but what’s the fun in that? Think about your dad for a moment. Think about the movies he likes. The books and shows he like. Now picture your dad with a boner. It’s a lot easier than you think, isn’t it? Peter Weir’s adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s Napoleonic War era nautical stories seemed to come and go rather quietly. With Russell Crowe at the lead it made a few bucks but didn’t inspire any sequels. “MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD” nevertheless found critical acclaim and a particular appreciation for the movie developing in hindsight from all the dads and their boners. They love this shit. Perhaps one of the all timer, underrated, more modern Dad Boner films and also kinda gay with Crowe and Paul Bettany looking absolutely wifed. That’s just that high seas shit. Peace and love to all the gay dad boners out there. Oh, shit! We found a link to the movie but I bet it gets taken down quick: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5syct99MvVw
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Casualties of War (1989)

This is a very patriotic month here in the United States so why not discuss war movies? GLORY & PROPAGANDA is July’s theme. Angela maybe isn’t going to have fun this month. It might be rough for Bob too but he actually likes sad dad-boner type movies. When you come up with Vietnam War movies in your mind, this might pop up fourth or fifth off the top of your head. This flick features Michael J. Fox in one of his most dramatic leads in his career. Many Vietnam War movies since “Apocalypse Now” proved to be quite successful but this 1989 film, “CASUALTIES OF WAR” by Brian De Palma did not napalm the box office and probably asserted Fox back into his more lighthearted fare that made him successful in the first place. Also starring Sean Penn, John C. Reilly, John Leguizamo and more. This film is based upon an actual incident of a regiments abduction, sexual assault and murder of a Vietnamese girl. The “Incident on Hill 192” was reported in the New Yorker but much of the names have been changed, including the title of the incident itself for whatever reason. Fox’s Private Eriksson strives to do what’s right despite not stopping what did occur. Will the military respond with charges against these men? When it’s all said and done, will it even matter? Vietnam movies can be brutal and this one is no exception.
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Sergeant York (1941)

New month! New theme! July gets pretty explosive so why not talk about war movies all month? It’s a theme we’re calling “GLORY & PROPAGANDA”. We start it off with some proper classic American movie heroism and jingoism but be prepared for things to not tow such a patriotic line as we dive deeper into the horrors of war on film all month. Today, we can revel in some patriotism in a biopic about a classic American hero who happens to be Tennesseean just like the hosts of this show! Alvin York was a deeply religious man who didn’t even want to go fighting in Europe when the government came calling for the meat show. Fortunately, a bible verse about turning your holes out for Caesar talked him into killing A LOT of Germans and capturing several more. It earned York the Medal of Honor and this movie about him earned Gary Cooper, who played Alvin York, a best actor Oscar. It’s our third Howard Hawks flick, the 1941 hit “SERGEANT YORK” played by the aforementioned Gary Cooper who is, unfortunately, not gay. It’s too bad, really. He would have been a great secret Hollywood gay. Here’s the movie in color but we watched it in the original black and white: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5fXLdkrTdI
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

Today we say goodbye to our annual MOVIES ARE GAY theme for June and it’s one of our favorite months. So eye opening. Sometimes hole opening. We’re coasting out strong with our last selection and it just so happens to be (I think) our first official musical and it’s one that took us by surprise waaaaay back in 2001 when we happened to lay eyes on it in our movie theaters and dorm rooms. It was intensely  appreciated in its time by a small audience but John Cameron Mitchell & Stephen Trask’s undeniably entertaining rock musical has proven influential and enduring. Of course we’re discussing the 2001 queer cult classic “HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH” directed by John Cameron Mitchell and starring himself, Miriam Shor, Andrea Martin and Michael Pitt with music by Stephen Trask. A young boy growing up in East Berlin finds her way to America following a botched gender reassignment surgery. Hansel, now carrying her mother’s name, is alone in an isolating new world. She reinvents herself through music and falls in love. Of course it doesn’t work out so we come into the story of Hedwig through bitterness, salad bars and solid rock and roll jams. Will Hedwig find the fame that was stolen from her? Will she become what she was always meant to be? One way or another we all do. Shit, dawg, that’s deep ((hits blunt)). We got that Criterion up at the house but here’s a version we found online in Spanish: https://archive.org/details/Hedwig.And.The.Angry.InchAngeeParaZoowoman.website_201804 Don’t gat mad at us if it’s a dead link. You took too long. Go buy it. Stay gay.
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