Anthony J. Langford: Films

Showing posts with label Films. Show all posts

1956 - 1994 Classic 'Genre' Films song (mostly 70's, 80's)

1956 - 1993 Classic Films edited to classic song

Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb

(Most are 70's/80s)

Can you pick the movie? All edited to the music. Most are from the 70's and 80's. I made this back in the mid 90's, sourcing the material from VHS, being the only format available then. I meant to upgrade all the vision to better quality but never did so just going to release it as is. I was really happy with how it turned out.

Perhaps the crappy quality will instead place it into the time it was made, roughly '94. They were all my favourite films to that point. Mostly genre pieces. Most are still in my Top 10.

A Clockwork Orange

The Thing

Aliens

Star Wars (As you can see the timecode stamps on Jurassic Park, the film had not yet been released on VHS but as I worked for a small production company/dubbing house, we had the Marketing Material for the movie to be distributed to TV stations and this was on it).

Watch above or HERE

(If you have trouble watching, please let me know).

Have any to add from that period?

Was there any in there that you didn't recognise?

This was edited from VHS to a 3/4 Inch tape. It was not frame accurate. Very clunky. So the fact that it turned out as well as it did was a great joy to me. I love the final result.

I hope youre doing okay. Actually I hope youre doing fucking fantastically! Okay is good, but good is better.

A.J. Langford Books

Until next time,

Peace and good vibes to you my friend.

Anthony

Those crazy young people. I wrote a Movie, Travel Bug. Finally you can read it, FREE!

I wrote a Movie! And now you can read it free.

It's called Travel Bug. Based on my years working as a barman and backpacking in Europe. I was in my early twenties so it's also about the crazy things young people get up to.

I was living above the bar/restaurant, along with many of the staff. It was some of the best fun of my life. Not without it's many dramas as is prone to happen with young people. And young love.

When I returned to Australia, instead of going back to the country where I grew up, I moved to Sydney. Part of it is based on that time too. Some of the screenplay mirrors real life. As usual, it will be up to you to work out how much is real life.

It was written when I was thirty-eight, fourteen years after the last of the events took place.

So here it is.

Travel Bug

Download it HERE

Read at your own leisure. 83 pages.

For anyone who's been a backpacker. Anyone who's worked in hospitality. Anyone who's been in love. Anyone who's been young.

Note the two crazy dudes hanging out the right window.

I never really believed I would make this screenplay into a real feature film but I had made many short films and hoped I could get it into the right hands somewhere.

Well, dreamin' big is free. Creating the work is hard but possible. Beyond that, well, it's a different ball game. My film career never really took off so this became the only full length film script I ever wrote. After this I began writing my first novel, the yet to be published children's fantasy, Borders of Bordavia. (I hope to publish it sometime, perhaps 2024/5).

I wrote other short film scripts which have never been made or released publicly but you can watch the films I did make HERE.

Sweet youth. How short it is.

A.J. Langford Books

Best TV series and films of 2022

These are my top rated shows and films of 2022.

However, some of the best material I watched was older films. Unfortunately I can't include them. I have included some from 2021 as they were released late in 2021 or I just didn't get to them. Some were actually made in 2021 but released in 2022.

Some particular episodes of shows such as House of the Dragon, Dexter, Tokyo Vice and Sandman were great but not the series as a whole.

So here they are. Copied from IMDB with my rating.

There are still certain things I haven't see yet.

No order.

My favourite series of the year. Unbelievable quality. Animated but not for children

A close second. The only Star Wars production in recent years to be any good. This was excellent.

Very slow first half but still great

Not as good as Dark but still consistently enjoyable

Documentary - incredible story

Very disturbing. European. Something of substance Hollywood could learn from.

Another European production. Probably my favourite film of the year.

I could relate to this in a big way. Great quality but troubling and something everyone should watch.

I got vertigo just watching it.

Another great European film.

Great but not that different to the Lynch version. I wouldn't call it superior.

Fresh and inventive though still a little woke (can filmmakers get funded without it?)

Fantastic version. Great animation but it's the story and characters that shine

Many series I started that had great opening episodes, like 1883 but it became clear after a few episodes that they were either, A/ Stretching it out. B/ Pretending to be one thing but turned out to be another. C/ Became bogged down with insulting identity politics. D/ Not enough focus on character and story and simply became dull.

Some I just avoided altogether if it appeared overly moralistic (woke). Far too much of it about and it's all directed at white people and men, etc. It's simple bigotry. Additionally, it's almost as though Hollywood has forgotten how to write. So many shows I gave up on this year whereas in recent years, TV series were much stronger than movies. Unfortunately, movies have also taken a huge dive. This year was the worst yet. This has been reflected in box offices numbers at their lowest ever. (Streaming services have also had an impact but it doesn't mean the quality there is better. It's more about quantity than quality).

Not enough risk. Too many remakes/sequels etc. Everything, everywhere all at once was a great attempt but just fell a bit short for me. Worth your time though.

The Europeans are still making decent material thankfully, as are other areas like Asia. (Squid Game for example).

Hollywood needs to get off the soapbox and get back to character and story. We want to be entertained. That's it.

"A film is not supposed to be a lecture."- Akira Kurosawa

What were your favourites?

A.J. Langford Books

What are your favourites of the past 20 years? Rediscovered - TOP TEN 2008

Hi,

What are you favourite films over the past 20 years?

I came across this document today, 11/11/19, written late 2008. Quite interesting given perspective and time. In the days before films were readily available online. These would been cinema viewings or dvd hires.

From The Fall - Made in 2006 but not given a release, (very limited) until 2008.

TOP TEN FILMS 2008

The Fall – Largely passed over, but word of mouth will bring this to the classic status it deserves. Simply brilliant. The Wizard of Oz for a new generation. A visual feast without the CGI. Pure storytelling. The little girl is magical.

The Dark Knight – more layered than it probably needed to be, but it’s what lifts it above standard comic book fare. You almost forget it’s a Batman movie. Ledger is good, no doubting that.

WALL-E – good, simple visual fun.

Iron Man – Downey kept it fresh.

In Bruges – Hilarious, frightening and well acted.

The Spiderwick Chronicles – Great for kids, an old fashioned story.

Starting out in the Evening – A love story about writers, but then again, I’m biased.

Mister Lonely

Towelhead

Mongol

Unseen due to late Australian release but getting lots of good reviews:

Slumdog Millionaire

Synecdoche, New York

Milk

The Wrestler

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Revolutionary Road

Any thoughts? Those later films were all great, but at year's end, I hadn't seen them. Perhaps they would have made the list. I remember being very impressed with Milk and Revolutionary Road.

The Fall is an incredible film, which was never given a proper release. If you can track it down, I highly recommend it. It's an original. I contacted the young girl who starred in it and we exchanged some emails for a time. She was hoping to be an actress but it didn't look promising. She was on my email list for this site for a number of years. Last I heard she was in University.

A stunning film, and how it was made is quite a story unto itself. The Director was an international commercial director. While he was in various countries, creating commercials, he would tack on extra work on his own project. It wasn't made for a film company. Explains the many exotic locations and stunning visuals. And without corporate interference, why it's so unique.

Anyway, I thought this was something a little different to end the year. I would hate to become my own poetry/video/satire cliché.

Please visit my site for FREE downloads, videos, books, satire, poetry and more.

Best of 2021 YouTube Playlist for some great music over your break

or My 80's Overlooked/Forgotten Playlist which has over a million views

All of my Video Poems in one Playlist

I will give you a break from me now for a couple of weeks.

Thank you for allowing me into your lives, in this small way, this year.

May 2022 be a great year for you. Or at least not a shitty one. While there's life...

Peace my friend.

Anthony

Best Films of 2019 - without cliches

Best Films of 2019

In no particular order.

I have found Tarantino's films to be getting increasingly self indulgent, stale and overlong, like The Hateful Eight. However, this year was an awesome surprise. Being a film buff and attuned to the Manson Family Murders, I watched this with a mix of trepidation and reference picking pleasure. It was fresh. His cast always deliver and what a chemistry these two have. Best buddy movie of many years and possibly Tarantino's best since Pulp Fiction.

I suspect this may have been more disturbing/refreshing to younger audiences more conditioned to superheroes movies. Naturally there's been many unhinged characters onscreen before but not quite in this genre, and not holding up the entire film. Personally I still prefer Heath Ledger's version and even the original Cesar Romero, but Phoenix is a first class actor and this is a very different beast. Great film.

Highly original. Highly disturbing.

Finally a film of maturity, that treats adults with respect. Doesn't pit the sexes against one another and play the dull stereotypical political correct game that has stifled Hollywood over the past number of years. A real class piece of work with extraordinary performances. Driver dominates everything he's in and Scarlett turns in her best performance yet. Both deserve Oscars.

Excellent concept and direction, riding off the coattails of Dunkirk. While not as good as that film, still a must see on the big screen and one of the year's finest.

I really enjoyed this. It was also fresh and left some scenes unexplained. The ending disappointed me, so when I read the studio would only green-light it if the director changed the ending, it made sense. They had the guts to make it but not to go all the way. A very good film. Unfortunately it could have been a great one.

Haters gunna hate. Fanboys and girls expect too much. Same was seen with Game of Thrones at the end. You can't please everyone and people expect too much. Criticise the franchise for being too close to the originals, but this is the best of them. Superbly made, with tight direction and great performances. The casting with the whole series was excellent. And it's great to see old faces for one last time. I even found it quite emotional. The only film, aside from Rogue One, outside the original trilogy of any value. This series will continue to accrue fans and people will be kinder as the years go by. Star Wars isn't over.

Lots of twists and turns. Superbly entertaining. Beautiful shot and designed. From Korea.

Australia rarely makes a good film but this was very well directed and an important episode in Australia's involvement in Vietnam. As usual, barely supported by the public. A shame. Our vets deserve to be recognised. God knows they were shunned for long enough. Exciting as an action/war film but it's no Platoon. Still, it's well worth your time.

The one and only film from it's 29 yo director who committed suicide. Very long, almost 4 hours and incredibly bleak, but there's a real poetry in it's simplicity. What a waste of an incredible talent. At least he left us this brooding masterpiece. A rarity from China.

Powerful, disturbing and difficult to watch but such an intense, unique atmosphere. Dynamite performances. I don't think I've seen Dafoe better than this.

An American is held hostage in South America by a teenage guerrilla gang. Elements of Lord of the Flies, regardless, its inventiveness and originality plus cinematic class places it above the majority of rubbish put out by Hollywood today.

Freshness is the key word that sums up most of the above films. Films of quality and maturity. The Oscars have become a Tick the Virtue Signalling BoxFest. Reviewers are too scared to be honest in case they get 'branded.' Branded today, justified or not, can mean the end of a career. Pretty much anyone's career today. That's why the films above have been so enjoyable.
I've stopped reading reviews. I've stopped watching Awards Shows. I've stopped watching trailers too. They ruin the narrative. Make up your own mind. You're an adult. You deserve to be treated like one. The best way to do that is ignore what anyone says.

Sorry but The Irishman is completely overrated. It's getting accolades like a type of lifetime achievement award. I suspect that's all it really is. Scorsese is a great director. But this? While it's great to see such amazing talent on the screen, all of them have done far better things. It's like celebrating someone's 21st birthday when they're 43. Tedious and ridiculous. Passing DeNiro off as a 30 something looks silly. They can CGI his face but they can't hide his body's slow movements. The fight scene was laughable. Pacino was good but go back and watch Scarface, Good Fellas, Taxi Driver, Cape Fear or any other film from these legends. This one is a borefest.

Films I wanted to see but have been unable to.

Under the Silver Lake
A Hidden Life
A Beautiful day in the Neighborhood
Knives Out
Fast Color

Doctor Sleep was a disappointment. (From the Director of The Haunting of Hill House which was far superior).
It Two. Awful.
As was The Beach Bum.
Gloria Bell was enjoyable but forgettable.
The Souvenir and In Fabric both self indulgent.
High Life a joke.
A Dog's Journey, unashamedly schmaltzy but the kids will love it.
Terminator Dark Fate was quite fun but no more please.
Rocketman didnt take off. Better not as a musical?
The Aeronauts - another example of revisionist history to promote certain people. Pathetic.
Alita: Battle Angel deserved more fanfare. It was good.
Came out in 2018 but Karen Gillian's The Party's Just Beginning was excellent.

There was a slew of great documentary's.
Check out Tell Me Who I am.
I Love You, Now Die.
Evelyn.
Cold Case Hammarskjold

For TV Shows, you couldn't pass Chernobyl for quality.
The Mandalorian was fun and delivered what the latest Star Wars trilogy couldn't.
The Dark Crystal series was awesomely made.
The Boys was naughty fun.
Mindhunters was brilliant. About the study of the psychology of serial killers in the late 70's.

No doubt I missed many. Any recommendations from you?

Coming very soon, my own short film, the understated, M ISSED starring a 7 year old first timer.

Top 10 films of 2018

I've chosen films based on the success of their intent, no matter the genre, originality and entertainment value. Most still have flaws, (such as the quietest baby on earth in A Quiet Place), but overall delivered the goods.

NB: I missed Bohemian Rhapsody which I suspect it may make the Top 10 but alas, I cannot include it. (Having seen it now, I would put it approx. No. 5).