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guest

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 11:19:07 -0600

"But the sad fact is that despite being North America's oldest competitive film festival, CIFF is still viewed as being second-tier." You know what's also old and competitive? Dick Cheney. So what?

Ferdy

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:37:30 -0600

Rob, thanks for the info about the DVD. I'll contact Gabe about it.

Ferdy

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:22:38 -0600

There has been a personnel shake-up at CIFF, which led to such a mediocre festival last year with very few guests. I miss the Critics' Choice programs, too. They were exceptional, but I wonder if that wasn't done because Ebert was sick. CIFF had been on the upswing in recent years, with three great ones in a row before 2006. It has always been thus, many ups and downs. If Da Mare is so dedicated to making this a world-class city, and the tabloid newspapers are so into stargazing, why doesn't the city and the newspaper foundations start throwing some money and expertise at CIFF?

guest

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:07:22 -0600

CIFF *is* second-tier. Just looking at other North American festivals, Toronto and NY do a much better job at presenting a wider scope of what is happening in the world of cinema. Since they dropped the "Critics Choice" programs a few years ago (remember that great Ozu screening with benshi?), CIFF became exclusively focused on narrative films made within the last year or so aimed at the domestic arthouse circuit. That's pretty limited. also: though more bare-bones than CINE-FILE, this site has been listing "alternative" cinema events for years, with a lot of useful links to online reviews: http://www.restructures.net/chicago/film.htm

Rob Christopher

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:01:58 -0600

You might be able to find a bootleg DVD out there somewhere but as far as I know there isn't one that's commercially available. The DVD we saw was practically the equivalent of a bootleg: so faded and washed out that at times it almost seemed like an alien transmission from outer space. That the movie is still amazing under these conditions is proof of its greatness. It's like those wire recordings of Charlie Parker. Technical shortcomings aside, the greatness comes through.

Ferdy

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 09:29:19 -0600

Then, is the DVD available?

Rob Christopher

Fri, 07 Sep 2007 08:40:21 -0600

Ferdy, There just aren't any prints for a theatrical run. The CCF screened a DVD of the only known complete print, so until some serious restoration is done (which ain't gonna happen anytime soon I'd wager) I'm afraid it'll be damn near impossible to see.

Shannon

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:45:51 -0600

who decides, 'yeah, i heard about this super obscure rossellini film from the '50s, it's a real in-depth study of india.. let's go see it, but first i wanna get wasted.'

Ferdy

Thu, 06 Sep 2007 14:41:29 -0600

Do you know if anyone is planning to bring Mother, India back for a real run, say the Music Box or Facets? I missed the Chopin screening.